FTSE 100 Closes the Week Lower as Investors Anticipate Budget. The FTSE 100 edged down on Friday, finishing over 1% lower as investors looked ahead to next week’s autumn Budget. London’s leading index slipped 0.3%.
Meanwhile, Frankfurt’s Dax index inched up 0.02% in Europe, while the Cac 40 in Paris ended the day down 0.1%.
A busy week of corporate reporting is set, featuring updates from oil giants, major banks, and leading US corporations.
Following Ford’s announcement in the US on Monday, HSBC and BP will report on Tuesday. HSBC recently hinted at a possible split of its Asian and UK businesses.
On Wednesday, Aston Martin, which issued a profit warning last month, will report in London, along with GSK and Next, while Microsoft and Meta will deliver updates from the US.
Thursday brings reports from Haleon and Shell, as falling oil prices may impact fossil fuel companies’ figures, with Amazon and Apple also set to release their results from the US.
Monday, 28 October
Announcements Due:
- US Earnings: Ford Motor Co
- AGMs: City of London Investment Group PLC (AIM: CLIG), Net Zero Infrastructure PLC (LSE: NZI), Crystal Amber Fund Ltd, Empyrean Energy PLC (AIM: EME)
Tuesday, 29 October
HSBC’s update follows its recent announcement of significant structural changes. BP’s results will also be closely watched, especially in light of recent declines in oil prices.
Announcements Due:
- Trading Updates: Banco Santander (LSE: BNC), Fidelity Asian Values PLC (LSE: FAS), BP PLC (LSE: BP), HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE: HSBA)
- Finals: Cap-XX Ltd, Softcat PLC (LSE: SCT), Ultimate Products PLC, YouGov PLC (AIM: YOU)
- US Earnings: McDonald’s Corp, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ), Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP), Visa Inc (NYSE: V)
- AGMs: Indus Gas Ltd, Medcaw Investments PLC, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM: FOG, TSX-V: FO)
- Economic Announcements: UK Consumer Credit, UK M4 Money Supply, UK Mortgage Approvals, US House Price Index, US Consumer Confidence
Wednesday, 30 October
Aston Martin’s results follow last month’s profit warning that sent shares tumbling. GSK aims to move forward after settling numerous Zantac litigation claims. Analysts anticipate that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, may surpass expectations.
Announcements Due:
- Trading Updates: Next PLC (LSE: NXT), Smurfit WestRock PLC, Standard Chartered PLC (LSE: STAN), Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC (LSE: AML), GSK PLC (LSE: GSK, NYSE: GSK)
- Finals: Grit Real Estate Income Group Ltd (LSE: GR1T)
- US Earnings: AbbVie Inc, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN), Automatic Data Processing Inc (NASDAQ: ADP), Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT), Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE: LLY), Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY), Fiverr International Ltd, The Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC), Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG), Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), Lemonade Inc, Meta Platforms, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), MicroStrategy Inc, Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX), Teladoc Health Inc (NYSE: TDOC)
- AGMs: BHP Group Ltd (LSE: BHP), Frontier Developments PLC (AIM: FDEV), Hargreaves Services PLC (AIM: HSP), Moh Nippon PLC, Springfield Properties PLC (AIM: SPR)
- Economic Announcements: UK BRC Shop Price Index, US MBA Mortgage Applications, US Preliminary GDP, US Pending Home Sales, US Crude Oil Inventories, EU GDP
Thursday, 31 October
Shell has already indicated that lower refining margins may impact its results, while Haleon’s long-term outlook recently led to an increased price target from analysts. Amazon’s retail margins will be closely observed in its latest update, and Apple’s report arrives amidst recent market share declines in China.
Announcements Due:
- Trading Updates: Coca-Cola HBC AG, Haleon PLC (LSE: HLN), Pphe Hotel Group Ltd, Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE: SN), Shell PLC (LSE: SHEL)
- Interims: Vela Technologies PLC (AIM: VELA), Spectris PLC (LSE: SXS)
- Finals: Seeing Machines Ltd (AIM: SEE)
- US Earnings: Ball Corp (NYSE: BALL), Bristol-Myers Squibb, The Estée Lauder Companies, Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA), Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK), Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER), Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ: WTW), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC)
- AGMs: Armadale Capital PLC (AIM: ACP), Cloudcoco Group PLC, Filtronic PLC (LSE: FTC), Grand Vision Media Holdings PLC (LSE: GVMH), Renalytix PLC (AIM: RENX), TheWorks.co.uk PLC
- Economic Announcements: US Continuing Claims, US Employment Cost Index, US Initial Jobless Claims, US Personal Consumption Expenditures, US Personal Income, US Personal Spending, US Chicago PMI, EU Inflation
- Ex-Dividends Impact on FTSE 100: 0.26
Friday, 1 November
Announcements Due:
- US Earnings: Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM)
- AGMs: Armadale Capital PLC (AIM: ACP)
- Economic Announcements: UK Nationwide House Price Index, UK Manufacturing PMI, US Non-Farm Payrolls, US Unemployment Rate, US PMI Manufacturing, US Construction Spending, US ISM Manufacturing, US ISM Prices Paid
