Africa stock markets in 2018 generally slid downwards as global economic headwinds adversely affected commodity exports and fiscal revenues. West and South African economies broadly dipped as East African economies gave mixed outlooks. North Africa had as much of a tough time with its markets as their West African counterparts. The current market outlooks for 2019 appear very similar to the previous year, 2018, but a lot will depend on the resolution of trade conflicts between China and the United States of America, and between Italy and its European neighbours in the EU.