The coming week sees the pace of corporate results reporting ease slightly, but still includes some big names, including insuers Aviva and Beazley; gambling groups Entain, Rank and Evoke; and housebuilders Bellway and Persimmon.
Economic news includes UK gross domestic product and labour market data, which is under an intense spotlight amid interest rate speculation.
Monday 11 August
Announcements expected:
Interims: Caledonia Mining Corporation, Diversified Energy Company, Marshalls, Plus500
Overseas announcements: Barrick Mining (pre-market), AMC Entertainment (afterhours)
Tuesday 12 August
Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) has seen its shares gallop over 40% higher since the start of the year, though some analysts predict the strong run to continue.
This is, to a large part, down to an impressive performance from its US joint venture, BetMGM, which has turned profitable and is, according to a recent second-quarter update, now expected to generate net revenue of at least $2.7 billion and EBITDA of at least $150 million this year.
For the FTSE 100 bookmaker as a whole, analysts at Citi said they expect modest revenue growth for the full year and into 2026, with earnings per share also seen ticking higher by just over 2% in both years.
Elsewhere, housebuilder Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) updates on its fiscal third quarter, having, like many in the sector, seen its shares subside somewhat following a statement from rival Barratt Redrow last month that guided to lower sales volumes.
Among overseas earnings, upstart trainer maker On Holding, backed by Roger Federer, is among the overseas names reporting later.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: Bellway
Interims: Atalaya Mining Copper, Derwent London, Entain, Genuit Group, PageGroup, Spirax, Xaar
Finals: Zoo Digital Group
Overseas announcements: Sea Ltd, Cardinal Health, Circle Internet, Tencent Music Entertainment, On Holding
Economic announcements: Unemployment (UK), Wage Growth (UK), Claimant Count (UK), HMRC Payrolls (UK), BRC Retail Sales (UK), ZEW Survey (EU), Consumer Price Index (US)
Wednesday 13 August
Housebuilder Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) is one of the FTSE 100 names reporting on Wednesday, with shares in the sector having taken a knock from a mixed trading update from rival Barratt Redrow last month, as it guided to lower sales volumes for the year ahead, citing persistent market headwinds and planning delays.
Also last month, Persimmon was one of seven major housebuilders that paid a collective £100 million as a settlement to end a collusion investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Also lined up at the starting gate will be William Hill owner Evoke PLC (LSE:EVOK), which recently confirmed that revenue grew 3% in the first half.
Adjusted EBITDA was guided to a range of £163-167 million, representing 43% growth at the mid-point.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates:
Interims: Balfour Beatty, Beazley, Evoke, Hill & Smith, Light Science Technologies Holdings, Persimmon, TUI, Winking Studios
Overseas announcements: Cisco Systems Inc (afterhours)
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index (GER), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
Thursday 14 August
The FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Thursday, primarily due to a large batch of heavyweight names trading ex-dividend, collectively subtracting around 30 points from the index.
Among the most significant drags among the 16 blue chips going ex-div, are six of the index’s top largest companies, including oil giants Shell and BP, HSBC, Rio Tinto, Unilever and GSK.
Among company news, Aviva PLC (LSE:AV.) reports the first results since completing the takeover of Direct Line, with numbers that follow rival L&G, which reported a week earlier.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley reckon Aviva could beat consensus forecasts, though those at UBS reckon that investors will have to wait until later in the year for the real action, when a more detailed update on the Direct Line integration is given.
Cost savings of £125 million are the target shared by management before the deal closed.
Ahead of its interims, giant copper miner Antofagasta PLC (LSE:ANTO) impressed with a recent operational update, showing better cost performance than expected in the first half.
Deutsche Bank forecasts EBITDA of $2.05 billion for the half-year, with the FTSE 100 copper miner having left guidance unchanged and expecting a sequential lift in output over the two remaining quarters of the year...read more
Announcements expected:
Interims: Amaroq, Admiral, Antofagasta, Aviva, CAB Payment Holdings, Capital Ltd, Savills
Finals: ITM Power, MHA, Rank Group
Ex-dividend impact on FTSE 100: 30.22 points: Shell (6.54 point impact), HSBC Holdings (5.43), Rio Tinto (4.96), BP (4.10), Unilever (3.92), GSK (2.69), London Stock Exchange Group (0.73), Haleon (0.55), Rentokil Initial (0.32), Hikma Pharmaceuticals (0.18), Hiscox (0.15), Fresnillo (0.12), Melrose Industries (0.12), IMI (0.11), Pershing Square Holdings (0.09), and Pearson (0.21)
Overseas announcements: Deere & Co, JD.com (premarket), Applied Materials (after)
Economic announcements: RICS Housing Market Survey (UK), GDP (UK), Balance of Trade (UK), Index of Services (UK), Industrial Production (UK), Industrial Production (EU), Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Producer Price Index (US)
Friday 15 August
Being an investor in OSB Group PLC has required a lot of patience, analysts at Panmure Liberum recently noted, but a recent strategy day highlighted that a run of good updates should help to restore confidence in the turnaround...read more
Announcements expected:
Interims: OSB Group
Overseas announcements: Flowers Foods, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, BitFuFu
Economic announcements: Wholesale Prices (GER), Import and Export Price Indices (US), Retail Sales (US), Capacity Utilisation (US), Industrial Production (US), Business Inventories (US)