Investors will get a look at how the living wage is affecting big employers when Whitbread reports on Tuesday.
The Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner has previously stated it will be able to mitigate the impact of the National Living Wage over time, through a combination of productivity improvements, investment in systems & training and efficiency savings.
Deutsche Bank said: “The impact & mitigation will be different for each division.”
The shares have modestly underperformed the FTSE100 by 4% in the last quarter and the broker said it remains positive on the company.
Also on Wednesday, Sky is due to report first quarter results, with Jefferies expecting the satellite broadcaster to show revenues grew 5% £2.7bn.
“Despite the loss of Champions League in UK/Italy, we believe Sky will deliver a broadly stable y-o-y performance in terms of subscriber net adds with solid growth in financials,” the broker said.
On Thursday, Debenhams reports its full year results, and, aided by management’s push towards less promotional and more full price sales, pre-tax profit is currently expected to edge marginally higher, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.
“An update regarding the group’s space optimisation programme may also be provided, along with an outlining of trading for new concessions such as Sports Direct, Costa Coffee and Monsoon”.
On the economic front, investors are in wait-and-see mode ahead of Monday’s Chinese GDP figures.
FXTM Research analyst Lukman Otunuga said: “If the world’s second largest economy fails to achieve its 7% Q3 GDP targets then global sentiment may be dealt a frightening blow once again.”
Finally, on Thursday, a number of companies are trading ex-dividend.
Most companies will see their share price fall as a result, and one that could be hit especially hard is S&U, which is paying out a £1.25 special dividend.
This is expected and investors should not panic at any share price movements that occur.
Significant announcements expected
Monday
Economic: China – Third quarter GDP.
Tuesday
Interim: Verizon Communications (LON:VZC), Quantum Pharma (LON:QP.),Kcell Jsc (LON:19PS), Whitbread (LON:WTB), ARM Holdings (LON:ARM), X5 Retail Group N.v (LON:89VS) 1Spatial (LON:SPA).
Trading statement: Go-Ahead Group (LON:The) (LON:GOG), InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG), Synety Group (LON:SNTY), Genel Energy (LON:GENL), Informa (LON:INF)
Economic: Eurozone – Current account, Balance of payments, US – Housing starts, Building permits.
Wednesday
Interim: Sky (LON:SKY), Norsk Hydro AS (LON:NHY), Datatec (LON:DTC), Acacia Mining Ord 10p (LON:ACA), ARM Holdings (LON:ARM), Development Securities (LON:DSC), Home Retail Group (LON:HOME).
Trading statement: BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RB.), Computacenter (LON:CCC), Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC).
Economic: UK – Publis sector finances, US – Crude oil inventories, mortgage applications
Thursday
Interim: Lombard Risk Management (LON:LRM), Stobart Group (LON:STOB).
Trading statement: RELX (LON:REL), Travis Perkins (LON:TPK), Segro (LON:SGRO), Phoenix Group Holdings, (LON:PHNX), Inchcape (LON:INCH), Ladbrokes (LON:LAD), Anglo American (LON:AAL), London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSE).
Companies trading ex-dividend: Rotala (LON:ROL), Sky (LON:SKY), Smiths Group (LON:SMIN), Ricardo (LON:RCDO), Penna Consulting (LON:PNA), JPMorgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust (LON:JMG), Menzies John (LON:MNZS), Marshalls (LON:MSLH), Senior (LON:SNR), S & U (LON:SUS), Wilmington Group (LON:WIL), William Hill (LON:WMH), Wolseley (LON:WOS), TR European Growth Trust (LON:TRG), TR European Growth Trust (LON:TRG), Thorpe (LON:F W) (LON:TFW), Tullett Prebon (LON:TLPR), JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW), InterQuest Group (LON:ITQ), Capita Group (LON:CPI), City Of London Investment Trust (LON:the) (LON:CTY), Darty (LON:DRTY), Cello Group (LON:CLL), Bankers' Investment Trust (LON:the) (LON:BNKR), BAE Systems (LON:BA.), CH Bailey (LON:BLEY), Bailey (LON:C H) (LON:BLEY), Edge Performance Vct (LON:EDGG), Edge Performance Vct (LON:EDGI), Howden Joinery (LON:HWDN), Intu Properties (LON:INTU), ISG (LON:ISG), Harvey Nash Group (LON:HVN), Hansteen Holdings (LON:HSTN), Galliford Try (LON:GFRD), Hansteen Holdings (LON:HSTN), BAE Systems (LON:BA.).
Economic: UK – Retail sales, Eurozone - Consumer confidence indicator, ECB interest rate, ECB minutes, US – Jobless claims.
Friday
Interim: Shire (LON:SHP), William Hill (LON:WMH).
Trading statement: William Hill (LON:WMH), TSB Banking Group (LON:TSB), Dechra Pharmaceuticals (LON:DPH).