A “meaningful” third vote by parliament on Theresa May’s Brexit deal had seemed possible on Tuesday until the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow yesterday surprisingly ruled that the prime minister cannot reintroduce the deal again without making substantial changes, creating a constitutional impasse.
Economists at ING commented: “Making sense of this verdict isn’t easy, but we aren’t convinced it makes ‘no deal’ more likely, and in fact, it may even help focus minds in parliament to settle on an alternative Brexit option.”
May's deal was defeated by 149 votes in a second attempt to pass it last week, one of the largest government defeats on record, and until she can secure the required changes and backing a Brexit day of March 29 looks completely unlikely. meaning the prime minister will have to ask all 27 EU leaders for an extension at a crucial summit meeting next week.
UK jobs and wages in focus
Although the focus will continue to be on the ongoing Brexit shenanigans, there will also be the latest UK jobs data to contend with on Tuesday.
UK unemployment is currently at historic lows, so any uptick in the jobless rate will no doubt have a Brexit focus
The main interest, however, will be on wage growth which is still coming through slowly, although the previous month’s average weekly earnings rise at 3.4% was well above the headline inflation rates which last month fell below 2%.
Fire impact eyed at Ocado
On the corporate front, a first quarter update from online grocer Ocado PLC (LON:OCDO) will be the main focus on Tuesday.
During the period, the FTSE 100-listed firm has had to deal with a massive blaze at its Andover warehouse and investors already know there will be an impact on sales from that: the question is, how much of an impact?
Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) obviously wasn’t too put off, however, as it struck a massive deal with Ocado that will see it replace Waitrose as the firm’s food supplier from next year.
M&S has paid a hefty price – £750mln to be precise – to get into bed with Ocado, which analysts think got the better end of the deal.
How the company plans to use that cash will no doubt be of interest as well.
It’s likely that chief executive Tim Steiner will pour the money into the other side of Ocado’s business – the side that licences out its online delivery technology to retailers and which is seen by most as the key to future success.
Given it’s a trading statement, investors can’t expect a huge amount of detail on potential new deals, but they may get a glimpse of where third-party interest levels are.
Could ASOS upgrade its recently downgraded guidance?
Investors in another internet star, ASOS plc (LON:ASC) are already braced for a fall in margins when the fashion retail giant also updates on trading.
The company, one of the biggest on AIM, shocked the market in December when it issued profit warning following a “significant deterioration” in November trading, which analysts believed was down to a cock-up in its Black Friday strategy.
Shares plunged on the news and although they’ve recovered somewhat since they are still down almost 40% from their December highs.
Earlier this year, Peel Hunt said the warning was more a “trading misstep” and claimed that ASOS could even raise its guidance in the upcoming update. Investors would love that to be the case.
US sales will also be of interest as well given the growth potential over on that side of the Atlantic, while the warm February might have dented average basket values (ABVs).
Copper miner Antofagasta looks to break records
Away from the online retailers, FTSE 100-listed miner Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) will be looking to deliver on its bullish January update with its finals having reported a rise in copper production to record levels and forecasting another record year for 2019.
The Chile-based group said its fourth-quarter copper production rose 16.8% to a record 220,000 tonnes as a result of higher production at all operations, adding that its production in the full year had been at the top-end of revised guidance, up 3% to 725,300 tonnes due to higher production at its Los Pelambres and Centinela projects.
It is also estimating 750,000-790,000 tonnes of copper, 240,000-260,000 ounces of gold, and 11,500-12,500 tonnes of molybdenum for 2019.
In a note on 12 March, analysts at Canadian bank RBC Capital said they are expecting the upcoming results to be “potentially slightly ahead of consensus estimates”.
Orders key for Wood Group
Investors in blue-chip oil services firm John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG.) will be looking for some more additions to its US$10bn order book when it reports its final results on Tuesday.
The company will also try to deliver some silver linings as it is due to be booted from the FTSE 100 from Monday following the latest quarterly reshuffle.
Analysts at The Share Centre are hoping that integration costs from its takeover of AMEC Foster Wheeler, which dented the company’s profits in the first half, “will not be repeated” and instead expect to see synergies coming through.
Significant announcements expected on Tuesday March 19:
Trading update: ASOS plc (LON:ASC), Ocado PLC (LON:OCDO)
Finals: Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO), John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG.), Mears Group PLC (LON:MERG), TP ICAP PLC (LON:TCAP), Bango PLC (LON:BGO), ECSC Group PLC (LON:ECSC), Learning Technology Group PLC (LON:LTG), Taptica International Limited (LON:TAP), Applegreen PLC (LON:APGN), Elcosoft PLC (LON:RLCO), Judges Scientific PLC (LON:JDG), JPJ Group PLC (LON:JPJ), Kape Technologies PLC (LON:KAPE), Mortgage Advice Bureau Holdings PLC (LON:MAB1), NAHL Group plc (LON:NAH), Ocean Outdoor Limited (LON:OOUT), Team17 Group PLC (LON:TM17), Zotefoams Plc (LON:ZTF)
Interims: SCS Group PLC (LON:SCS), Softcat PLC (LON:SCT)
Economic data: UK labour market data; US housing starts; US building permits