Domestos, Dove and Wall’s owner Unilever delivers a trading update on Thursday.
The City’s working theory is that Unilever’s strong brand position - a mix of loyalty or inertia stopping customers from substituting for cheaper alternatives – will insulate the conglomerate from the worst of it, so the next update will be closely watched for reassurance.
“The personal goods-to-food-to-home care group’s fabulous collection of brands and global reach means that if any firm can give investors a feel for how companies are managing input costs, pricing and margins, as well as ongoing disruption to global trade flows and the war in Ukraine, then surely Unilever can,” stockbroker AJ Bell said in a note.
UK grocer Sainsbury's will similarly give commentary around prices and competition, it might even make a gesture or two, like Marks & Spencer which in April cut prices of ‘everyday essentials’ and its budget range.
Credit Suisse expects poor general merchandise and clothing performance to continue in the fourth quarter owing to the availability issue.
The broker is concerned about Sainsbury's ability to pass on inflation to customers, which will add further pressure on grocery margins as discounters continue to expand across the UK.
Barclays is the next cab off the rank in the UK bank's reporting season and the pick of the bunch, according to Shore Capital, though this is largely down to recent share price weakness.
That reflects worries over its investment banking exposure. Expect first-quarter profits of about £1.32bn, down 45%, says the consensus
Barclays making hay in forex and credit-default swaps markets after Russian invasion of Ukraine
On the macroeconomic front, the latest flash reading for the US economy is something to note.
Consensus is for the brakes to have been slammed on in the first quarter of 2022 with growth of 6.9% in the last three months of 2021 giving way to just 1.1% in the Jan-March period.
Thursday 28 April
Finals: Brave Bison (AIM:BBSN) Group PLC, Checkit PLC (AIM:CKT, OTC:ECKTF), HeiQ PLC (LSE:HEIQ), Keystone Law Group PLC (AIM:KEYS), Sainsbury PLC, Sanderson Design Group PLC
Interims: C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD)
Trading announcements: ConvaTec Group PLC (LSE:CTEC), Evraz PLC (LSE:EVR), Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN), Howden Joinery Group (LSE:HWDN) PLC, Inchcape PLC (LSE:INCH), Lancashire Holdings, PPHE Hotel Group Ltd, Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN), Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR)
AGMs: Arden Partners (AIM:ARDN) PLC, Breedon Group Plc (AIM:BREE), British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS), Capital Limited (LSE:CAPD), CLS Holdings Plc (LSE:CLI), CRH PLC (LSE:CRH), Dalata Hotel Group PLC (LSE:DAL), Devro PLC (LSE:DVO), Flutter Entertainment, Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN), Glenveagh Properties PLC (LSE:GLV), Grafton Group, Greencoat UK Wind PLC (LSE:UKW), Hammerson PLC (LSE:HMSO), Helios Towers PLC (LSE:HTWS), International Personal Finance (LSE:IPF) PLC, ITV PLC (LSE:ITV), Kerry Group Ltd, NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), Octopus AIM VCT 2 PLC, Premier Miton Global Renewables Trust, Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA), Schroders PLC (LSE:SDR), Serco Group (LSE:SRP) PLC, Synthomer (LSE:SYNT) PLC, TOC Property Backed Lending Trust PLC (LSE:PBLT), Weir Group PLC (LSE:WEIR)
Economic Data: Continuing Claims (US), GDP- Preliminary (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)