After an extra-long weekend, news-hungry UK investors will have a sprinkling of company news from the likes of British American Tobacco, AVEVA and Wizz Air, as well as plenty of macroeconomic data.
And, if Westminster reports are to be believed, the Prime Minister could very soon face a vote on his future – though the so-called ‘Operation Save Big Dog’ seems to be working well so far.
In economic events, the big news looks likely to be whether the European Central Bank joins the interest-rate hiking party on Thursday or puts it off for another month, having not raised rates in 11 years.
The new month of June will bring new construction and services sector purchasing managers’ index (PMI) figures, along with a RICS housing update and the Bank of England’s latest inflation expectations survey at the end of the week.
MONDAY AND TUESDAY
A lack of big companies in the diary may give smaller fry a chance to shine - or a chance for everyone to pore over their failings.
One that could go either way is Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM:GHH) on Tuesday, which back in April reported a record order book but that "pandemic related factors" holding first-half revenue back and resulting in profit before tax is now forecast to be up to £2.5mln below previous guidance.
Expecting a higher second-half weighting and a payback for investment in manufacturing capacity and supply chain, this means the outlook statement could contain better or worse news.
WEDNESDAY
There’s little expected from FTSE 350 companies until midweek, when final results are due from industrial software group AVEVA PLC.
In late April it indicated revenue grew 18% in the fourth quarter and is expected to grow between 15% and 20% in the new year.
UBS says understanding the causes of an expected deceleration in sales in 2023 will the focus of the new update.
In particular, analysts wonder if a medium-term target of 15% compound annual growth in sales be credible with this year likely to see 3-4%.
Wizz Air Holdings is also in the diary, with the City analysts consensus pointing to revenues of €1.7bn compared to €739mln in 2021 and net losses of €636mln compared to €482mln last time and guidance of €632-652mln.
With potential headwinds for the year ahead including fuel prices, given the company’s limited hedging, UBS predicted the focus will be on first-quarter trading outlook and forward bookings for summer 2022 “which we think will be strong”.
Trading continues to be impacted by the war in Ukraine, so there is also likely to be an update on how this is affecting things, and how plans for a new Maltese subsidiary airline are going.
THURSDAY
British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) Is not an obvious choice to be one of this year’s best performers, but the tech fall-out and search for solid value has seen the cigarette maker’s star in the ascendancy again.
Thursday’s first quarter won’t contain any fireworks, as ever for the Kent, Dunhill, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike owner it is a question of managing decline.
Guidance for the year is for sales to grow between 2-4% though Russia is a wrinkle for the group, with 3% of sales coming from there and Ukraine.
Next-generation products, ie vaping and heat-not-burn products such as Vuse and Glo, might provide some excitement if recent strong growth continues – some 4.8mln new users were added last year.
But the key will be the dividend and what BATS indicates it will pay, though consensus forecasts currently are for a modest 1% rise in 2022.
Updates from CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX) and newly floated stockbroker Peel Hunt should provide an interesting window into how recent market volatility is effecting different parts of the Square Mile.
Looking further afield, talk of the ECB’s first rate hike in 11 years is growing louder ahead of Thursday’s meeting, especially with euro zone inflation having reached a record 8.1% last month.
This leads onto the next big question of 'by how much?', with governing council members including Austria’s central bank chief Robert Holzmann among those pushing for a 50 basis-point rise, but others such as Italy's calling for more gradual increases.
Such a rise in rates “would send the necessary clear signal that the ECB is serious about fighting inflation,” Holzmann said, which would help support a weak euro that he pointed out “is not helpful on the inflation front”.
Analyst Marshall Gittler at BDSwiss said: “The ECB is widely expected to end its quantitative easing program, paving the way for a rate hike at its next meeting in July.”
Some more UK housing data will be provided by RICS, with first signs appearing in the past week of a long-awaited cooling in the residential market, after an extraordinary run during the pandemic.
Deutsche Bank economists pointed out that with April mortgage approvals dropping below expectations, data from Zoopla showing 5% of properties saw an average price cut of 9% in May, they expect a five percentage point drop in the RICS house price balance from 80% to 75%.
FRIDAY
There’s precious little in the company diary on Friday but there are some important economic releases.
For the UK, the Bank of England’s TNS inflation attitudes survey should show another jump in inflation expectations.
In the statement following their May meeting, the Bank’s monetary policy committee said; "With monetary policy acting to ensure that longer-term inflation expectations are anchored at the 2% target, upward pressure on CPI inflation is expected to dissipate over time."
If this indicator continues to show that near-term inflation expectations are not anchored at all around 2%, the MPC may feel more pressure to accelerate their tightening, said Gittler.
The two most important readings to track are the 12-month ahead index and the “more important” medium-term inflation expectations measure, said Deutsche Bank, predicting 5.5% and 4% respectively.
US consumer prices are expected to show a further slowdown in the rate of inflation.
“One data point isn't a trend, but are two?” wondered Gittler. “Two consecutive declines in the year-on-year rate of inflation could signal a turning point in the fight against inflation. That could boost stock market sentiment globally.”
Significant announcements for the week 6-10 June
Monday 6 June
Finals: Jadestone Energy PLC (AIM:JSE), Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC (AIM:WWH)
Interims: Atrato Onsite Energy PLC (LSE:ROOF)
AGMs: Alphawave IP Group PLC (LSE:AWE), Jadestone Energy PLC (AIM:JSE)
Tuesday 7 June
Finals: LXi REIT PLC (LSE:LXI), NewRiver REIT PLC (LSE:NRR), Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust (LSE:SREI) Ltd
Interims: Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM:GHH)
AGMs: Animalcare Group (AIM:ANCR) Plc, Arix Bioscience PLC (LSE:ARIX), Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA), Integrated Diagnostics Holdings Plc (LSE:IDHC), Kooth PLC (AIM:KOO), Ondine Biomedical Inc (AIM:OBI), Osirium Technologies PLC (AIM:OSI), SpaceandPeople PLC (AIM:SAL), TruFin PLC (AIM:TRU)
Economic announcements: Retail Sales (UK), PMI Services (UK), Consumer Credit (US)
Wednesday June 8
Finals: AVEVA Group Plc, Itaconix PLC (LSE:ITX, OTCQB:ITXXF), Marks Electrical Group PLC (AIM:MRK), Vp plc, Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ), Workspace Group PLC (LSE:WKP)
Interims: Nexus Infrastructure Plc, Paragon Group
AGMs: Ascent Resources PLC (AIM:AST), Blackfinch Plc, City Pub Group PLC (AIM:CPC), DP Eurasia NV, Gem Diamonds Ltd, Malvern International PLC (AIM:MLVN), North American Income Trust Plc, Nostrum Oil & Gas Plc, Parity Group PLC (AIM:PTY), Petards Group PLC (AIM:PEG), Safestyle UK PLC (AIM:SFE), Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, ETR:SAV, OTC:SAVNF), Third Point Investors Ltd, Woodbois Ltd (AIM:WBI)
Economic announcements: Halifax House Price Index (UK), PMI Construction (UK), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Wholesales Inventories (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
Thursday 9 June
Finals: CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX), Mitie Group PLC (LSE:MTO), Norcros PLC (LSE:NXR), Peel Hunt Ltd (AIM:PEEL), Tate & Lyle PLC (LSE:TATE)
Interims: RWS Holdings (AIM:RWS) Plc
Trading update: British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS)
AGMs: 4basebio PLC (AIM:4BB), Aquila European Renewables Income Fund PLC (LSE:AERS), BioPharma Credit PLC (LSE:BPCR), Checkit PLC (AIM:CKT, OTC:ECKTF), Corero Network Security PLC (AIM:CNS), Dignity (LSE:DTY) Plc, Funding Circle Plc, Instem PLC (AIM:INS), Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Cos Inv Tst Plc, Kings Arms Yard VCT Plc, Kistos PLC (AIM:KIST), Kore Potash PLC (AIM:KP2, ASX:KP2, JSE:KP2), Northbridge Industrial Services Plc (AIM:NBI), Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM), R.E.A. Holdings Plc, Rambler Metals & Mining Plc, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Plc, Sopheon PLC (AIM:SPE), Xpediator PLC (AIM:XPD)
Economic announcements: RICS Housing Market Survey (UK), Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)
Friday 10 June
Finals: Mind Gym Ltd
AGMs: Ergomed PLC (AIM:ERGO, ETR:2EM), M P Evans Group Plc, Starwood European Real Estate Fin Ltd, THG PLC (LSE:THG), Ultra Electronics Holdings, XLMedia PLC (AIM:XLM, OTC:XLMDF)
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index (US), U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US), Budget Statement (US)