As the first week of September draws to a close, all eyes will be trained on the all-important US non-farm payrolls data, with little in the corporate diary to provide distraction.
The jobs report comes with investors anticipating a Federal Reserve rate cut in September of 25 basis points - or possibly 50bps if policymakers were to be swayed by President Trump.
But despite “rampant negativity”, economists at RBC Capital Markets said there was “nothing” in recent employment data to suggests that a deceleration in job growth is in the offing, with initial jobless claims and insured unemployment remaining at all-time lows, consumer confidence in the labour market at a fresh cycle high and the unprecedented phenomenon of openings still outnumbering hiring by about 1.6mln.
“So if job growth is indeed going to slow, it will not be because of waning economic growth but rather an inability to find workers. This, by the way, is a dynamic that typically leads to firming wages, which are an important offset to slowing job growth.”
The market currently expects 159,000 jobs to have been created in August, down from 164,000 in July, with average hourly earnings growth softening to 3.1% from 3.2% as the unemployment rate stays at 3.7%.
Ashmore to see earnings rise as CEO mulls further sell-down
Last month, emerging markets investor Ashmore Group PLC (LON:ASHM) reported a 7.6% rise in its assets under management to US$91.8bn, a touch above expectations.
However, when it reports its final results on Friday analysts at UBS are expecting revenues of £306mln, 1% below consensus, due to “weaker-than-expected management fees”.
However, the bank is still expecting an 11% rise in revenues year-on-year (YOY), as well as adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of £211mln, up 15% YOY.
UBS is also positing that Ashmore’s boss, Mark Coombs, could announce a stake sale of over 4% as part of plans to slowly reduce his 39% stake in the group to below 30%.
Major announcements due for Friday September 6:
Finals: Ashmore Group PLC (LON:ASHM)
Interims: International Public Partnerships PLC (LON:INPP), SIG PLC (LON:SHI)
Trading announcements: Berkeley Group PLC (LON:BKG)
Economic data: Halifax UK house prices, US non-farm payrolls