CMC Markets, Kainos, Premier Food, Virgin Money and Royal Mail are reporting on mid- and small-caps during the week.
Apart from Thursday’s important fiscal statement by the new chancellor, there are many big company announcements for the week ahead, including blue chip BAE Systems, British Land, Burberry, Halma and Imperial Brands.
A lot of market-moving macroeconomic data is also available, including UK jobs and inflation, retail sales, and US housing market numbers, sales, and producer prices.
MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER
The FTSE 250-listed Kainos Group PLC, (LSE:KNOS) has had a quiet start to the week. Its last update in September stated that trading was “very robust”.
Although the firm acknowledged the volatility of the economic environment, it said that its “robust pipeline and strong balance sheet” were key to its success.
Important announcements Monday
Interims Kainos Group PLC, SRT Marine Systems PLC, Total PLC.
Trading updates Diversified Energy Company PLC, Informa PLC, Capital PLC,
TUESDAY, 15 NOVEMBER
BAE Systems PLC (LSE :BA) is a major defense supplier. The war in Ukraine has helped to increase the share price by 36% annually.
Analysts expect more upgrades and positive news on orders in Tuesday’s third-quarter update.
Other than defence companies, winners, this year include tobacco companies. Imperial Brands PLC, (LSE:IMB), has its turn today with full-year results.
Stefan Bomhard, the company’s boss, updated its sales growth guidance. He also said that the next three-year phase of the company’s turnaround was underway. This phase will focus on increasing sales by a mid to single-digit percentage and adjusting operating profit at a middle-single-digit percentage.
You also need to have a good memory to remember when Vodafone PLC was a growth stock. Tuesday’s update will not reverse this trend.
There have been many developments in the last months but investors are generally unimpressed with management’s efforts. Investors were disappointed even when an agreement was made for raising cash through selling its stake in Vantage Towers mast unit.
Concerning macro matters, the Bank of England is mulling over when to slow down its pace of rate hikes. The UK jobs numbers and inflation data of crucial interest for the next Tuesday and Wednesday will be available.
Economists predict unemployment will remain at its 48-year low of 3.5% in the three months to August. Wage growth is expected to be unchanged.
Important announcements on Tuesday
Finals – Imperial Brands PLC
Interims: Cropper PLC, Land Securities Group PLC(LSE LAND), Ninety-One PLC (LSE :N91), Wincanton PLC (LSE WIN), Vodafone Group PLC(LSE :VOD], Workspace Group PLC (“LSE :WKP”)
Trading updates: BAE Systems PLC, Vesuvius Plc (LSE:VSVS)
AGMs: Berkeley Energia Ltd (LSE:BKY, ASX:BKY), Craneware PLC (AIM:CRW), Unicorn Mineral Resources PLC (LSE:UMR)
Economic announcements: Claimant Count rate (UK), Unemployment rate (UK), Producer Price Index(US)
US earnings – The Home Depot, Walmart
WEDNESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER
SSE PLC will release its half-year results on Wednesday. The power company is expected to report substantial growth in earnings over the last year.
SSE announced that additional profits will be reinvested into projects that “will provide long-term solutions that help reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile global gas prices”
After Land Securities’ interims a day before, British Land PLC, a rival property developer to FTSE 100, takes its turn.
CMC Markets is enjoying more volatile market conditions in the first half, while CMC Markets 2022, according to Peel Hunt, is “a year for transition”. There are lots of things to do to make the business more resilient and diverse.
“We expect updates regarding the launch of the investment portal and the expansion of additional products. All of these will leverage the strengths of the core platform.”
Experian PLC is a digital middleman that connects borrowers and lenders. This position is a good one as the demand for data continues to grow, according to analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The group’s goal of 7-9% organic growth in this year’s half-year results will be revealed next week. Analysts are still cautious and expect the growth towards the lower end.
The UK’s consumer price inflation will rise from 10.1% to 10.6% in September. However, core CPI is expected to have fallen from 6.4% to 6.5%.
Most economists believe that October’s inflation data will be the peak of UK CPI.
This data will include the most recent rise in electricity/gas prices, which occurred last month but is now being fixed at the government’s request until at least April.
Important announcements on Wednesday
Finals Sage Group PLC
Interims: British Land Company PLC(LSE :BLND), Castings PLC(LSE :CGS), CMC Markets PLC (LSE :CMCX), Experian PLC (LSE :PLC), Mediclinic International Plc, Premier Foods PLC), Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd.
Trading updates: Bridgepoint Group PLC (LSE:BPT)
AGMs: Dunelm Group PLC(LSE DNLM), European Opportunities Trust PLC(LSE :JEO), GreenX Metals Ltd. (LSE :GRX, ASX :GRX), Litigation Capital Management Limited. McBride PLC. LSE:MCB), Petra Diamonds PLC, Smiths Group (LSE :SMIN)
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index UK, Producer Price Index UK, Retail Price Index UK), MBA Mortgage Applications Import and Export Price Indices US, Retail Sales (US), Industrial Production US), Business Inventories US and Crude Oil Inventories US
US earnings Cisco Systems (NASDAQ.CSCO) Nvidia
THURSDAY, 17 NOVEMBER
On Thursday, the chancellor will be the centre of attention. This is the most difficult fiscal statement in more than a decade.
Jeremey Hunt warned investors that spending cuts and tax increases will require some “eye-watering decisions”. ( See the complete Autumn Statement preview).
Prior to that, there will be a busy morning with financial news including from Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services PLC(LSE: IDS) which will report half-year results amid an ongoing uncomfortable atmosphere for investors management and workers.
Despite sector peers reporting strong market dynamics in their respective sectors, a major focus of the FTSE 250-listed group is on any updates regarding the impact strikes have on business performance ( IDS preview).
Halma PLC, (LSE: HLMA) is a long-standing choice for income investors. The board’s first-half pre-close update confirmed that progress was in line with expectations.
Peel Hunt, a broker, stated that cash conversion will reflect targeted investments in working capital to maintain supply chain resilience. However, the balance sheet strength leaves ample room to invest in future organic growth or acquisitions.
Important announcements on Thursday
Finals: Grainger Plc, Virgin Money UK PLC
Interims: Burberry Group PLC(LSE BRBY), Great Portland Estates PLCs, Halma PLCs, Intermediate Capital Group PLCs (LSE :ICP), International Distribution Services PLCs, Investec, Mitie Group, Mitie Group PLC Syncona Limited (LSE :SYNC)
Trading Updates: Close Brothers Group PLC, (LSE :CBG), Spirax – Sarco Engineering (LSE :SPX)
AGMs: Advance Energy PLC – Close Brothers Group PLC – Cordel Group PLC – Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC – Finsbury Food Group, Finsbury Food Group, Thor Mining PLC
Ex-dividends AVEVA, B&M European Valu, Bunzl, DCC, GSK, Pershing Square Holdings, Unilever.
Economic announcements Building Permits (US), Claims Continuation (US), Housing Starts, (US), Initial Jobless Claims.
US earnings Alibaba Group (NYSE.BABA) , JD.com Applied Materials, Palo Alto Networks
FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER
The ONS will release UK retail sales data on Friday. This follows some very poor readings in the previous two readings, which were down 1.7% and 1.4% respectively on a monthly basis.
According to Michael Hewson (market analyst at CMC Markets), “With the new energy pricing cap starting at the beginning of October it’s easy to see that consumers have been reining in spending due to uncertainty over October as well as the farce of our political institutions.”
He said, “With consumer confidence at or near record lows, it is likely that consumers, even if they have money to spend, will hold back before the Christmas period and the end of this year.”
Important announcements Friday
Interims: Liontrust Asset Management (LSE:LIO)
AGMs: MJ Gleeson (LSE:GLE) PLC, Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, AIM:SVML)
Economic announcements Retail Sales (UK).
