Whatever the prevailing share trading factors of the day, London’s FTSE 100 will initially be hamstrung by a sizeable ex-dividend adjustment ahead of Thursday’s open.
Going ex-div are the likes of Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LON:LLOY), HSBC Plc (LON:HSBA), and Reckitt Benckiser Plc (LON:RB), with the stocks all set to trade without entitlement to their latest shareholder payouts.
In terms of corporate news, Thursday's attention will likely focus on B&Q owner Kingfisher Plc (LON:KGF) which releases a second-quarter trading update.
A heatwave and a World Cup will add up to a bumper barbeque season for the retailer, at least that’s what a back of an envelope analysis would suggest.
The key question, however, will be whether the hot summer was enough to melt the springtime freeze.
The FTSE 100-listed company had bad luck with the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ which brought over heavy snowfall and icy temperatures in February and March and kept customers away.
For the first quarter, it blamed the weather for a 1.2% fall in sales to £2.83bn and a 4% drop in like-for-like sales.
Analysts at UBS, now, expect Kingfisher to see a reversal for the second quarter with like-for-like sales growth of 1.2%.
Tough DIY markets continue
While the sunny weather could have helped Kingfisher this time around, DIY markets have been tough for some time and analysts don’t see that changing any time soon. That is certainly the case at Castorama, Kingfisher’s DIY retail store in France.
The B&Q stores in the UK, which sell home and garden products, have also been affected by a slowdown in the housing market and weaker consumer confidence in retail.
That being said, the Screwfix brand, centred on tools and hardware products for the trade, has been the group’s bright spot as it has shrugged off a difficult retail market to grow sales.
Kingfisher is now in the third year of its ‘transformation plan’ and last commentary from the company in May claimed it was on track to achieve strategic targets.
“The company’s transformation plan has caused some disruption in recent times and the market will be hoping for some signs that the benefits are coming through,” Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre.
“Rival Homebase is also having a tough time, it was sold for £1 in May and any disruption there may benefit Kingfisher.”
Significant announcements due on Thursday August 16:
Trading update: Kingfisher PLC (Q2) (LON:KGF)
Finals: Rank Group PLC (LON:RNK), Filtronic PLC (LON:FTC)
Interims: Kaz Minerals PLC (LON:KAZ), Tribal Group plc (LON:TRB), Bank of Georgia Group PLC (LON:BGEO)
Ex-dividends: To knock 17.13 points off FTSE 100 index - Anglo-American PLC (LON:AAL), Ashtead Group PLC (LON:AHT), Aviva PLC (LON:AV.), Evraz plc (LON:EVR), HSBC PLC (LON:HSBA), Legal & General Group PLC (LON:LGEN), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY), Pearson plc (LON:PSON), Reckitt Benckiser PLC (LON:RB.), Schroders PLC (LON:SDR), Segro PLC (LON:SGRO), Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SLA)
Economic data: UK retail sales; US weekly jobless claims; US housing starts; Philly Fed business outlook survey