On a quiet end to a holiday-shortened week, no corporate results are scheduled for release Friday, so the main company focus will be on a key annual general meeting for under pressure engineering contractor Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (LON:AMFW).
This will be the time for the troubled group’s shareholders to vote on March’s agreed £2.225bn recommended all-share takeover bid for Amec from oilfield support services firm John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG.)
At the end of April, the FTSE 250-listed firm - which suspended plans for a £500mln cash call as a result of the takeover move - reported a headline pre-tax loss of £542mln for the full-year to December 31 2016, up from a £235mln loss in 2015, so shareholders will be hoping the Wood Group deal will end the pain.
READ: Amec Foster Wheeler confirms the extent of its troubles with 2016 results
But investors will also want to know about reports last week that Amec is co-operating with the Serious Fraud Office over a criminal investigation into potential bribery corruption and money laundering in the contracting sector.
The SFO's ongoing investigation into Unaoil, a Monaco-based oil services company, has already dealt a heavy blow to oilfield services firm Petrofac PLC (LON:PFC) which last week suspended its chief operating officer and ring-fenced the activities of its chief executive officer from the probe.
READ: Petrofac and other oilfield services firms under a big, black cloud
A circular on the Amec takeover last week also revealed an internal probe by Wood Group into claims one of its joint ventures made payments to Unaoil.
Any prosecution from the SFO could result in large fines for the firms further putting the takeover under threat.
US jobs growth eyed as Fed gears up for another US rate hike
As always on the first Friday of a new month, the latest US jobs data will draw the most attention, particularly given expectations that June’s Federal Reserve policy meeting in around a fortnight’s time will sanction another US interest rate hike.
US non-farm payrolls rose by more than expected in April, increasing by 211,000 compared to economists’ estimates of 190,000, although the previous month’s figure was revised down to 77,000 from a previously reported 98,000.
The US jobless rate dipped to 4.4% in April, down from 4.5% in March, also surprising analysts who had expected an increase to 4.6%.
Meanwhile average hourly earnings rose by 2.5% year-on-year in April, from a downward revised 2.6% increase, missing analysts' expectations for a 2.7% year-on-year gain.
For May, economists are forecasting jobs growth to slow on the month with the consensus forecasts for payrolls to increase by 186,000, while the jobless rate is seen ticking back up to 4.5%.
Significant events expected on Friday June 2:
AGMs: Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (LON:AMFW); Goldstone Resources Ltd (LON:GRL); Manx Financial Group PLC (LON:MFX); Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN); Sphere Medical Holdings PLC (LON:SPHR)
US data: May non-farm payrolls, hourly earnings, balance of trade
UK data: June construction purchasing managers’ index