NAIROBI  - The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday.

UGANDA - The central bank is expected to announce its benchmark rate for the next two months.

GLOBAL MARKETS Global equity markets rose to a fresh record high on Wednesday as bond yields eased after data showed U.S. inflation was not rising wildly.

Most Asia-Pacific share indexes followed Wall Street higher, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng leading gains in the region, while benchmark U.S. Treasury yields continued their decline, marking a fresh three-week low.

WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday, adding to overnight gains, after industry data showed U.S. oil inventories declined more than expected and OPEC raised its outlook for oil demand.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa's rand reversed earlier losses on Tuesday, as traders digested news of strong gains in March U.S. inflation, though that was not expected to alter the Federal Reserve's commitment to keep interest rates at rock-bottom levels for years. 

KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday due to a sharp slowdown in demand for hard currency.

 

BENIN POLITICS President Patrice Talon has won re-election in Benin, with 86% of the votes in the first round of a ballot boycotted by some opposition parties, provisional results showed on Tuesday.

ZIMBABWE STEEL Zimbabwe's state-controlled iron and steel company ZISCO has invited new investors to help revive operations at the company that has been the target of interest from Indian and Chinese investors in the past, a company document seen by Reuters showed.

((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom)) ((Email: nairobi.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; tel: ++254 20 499 1232))