Grafton Group PLC is the biggest UK company in the diary for Tuesday, providing its first update since April, when it reported a good start to the year.
Revenue was up 15% and like-for-like sales up 7.5%, with price inflation the key driver of growth rather than volume.
As a supplier of building materials to the trade as well as a DIY retailer, investors will get insights into two different markets.
“Given the current valuation, and group's exceptionally strong balance sheet, the case for buybacks over and above the £100mln already announced has likely grown,” said broker Peel Hunt.
Possibly the most important macroeconomic number in the week, according to analyst Danni Hewson at AJ Bell, is the American NFIB smaller companies survey, as it has proved one of the most accurate predictors of recession in the past, but could also potentially provide an indicator for investors looking to time the bottom of the market.
Asking the 29mln American businesses that employ less than 500 staff, this survey provides an invaluable insight into a key component of the US economy, says Hewson.
“The bad news, therefore, is the last NFIB reading was 93.1. That was the lowest score since the pandemic panic of April 2020. Worse, the NFIB has gone below 95 just three times since 1985 and each time signalled a recession (the indicator got down to 96 in the 2001-02 downturn).”
But as US small-cap stocks are already reflecting this apparent unease, with the Russell 2000 index down by around a third from its high and ensconced in bear-market territory, “an upturn in the US NFIB and Russell 2000 would be a potentially encouraging indicator for any investor who is looking for a market bottom”, said Hewson.
Tuesday 12 July
Finals: Adept Technology Group PLC, Foresight Group Holdings Ltd, Sosandar (AIM:SOS) PLC, System1 Group (AIM:SYS1) PLC, Totally PLC (AIM:TLY)
Trading updates: Grafton Group
AGMs: British Land Co PLC, BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE:BSFA), Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY), Capital Gearing Trust PLC (LSE:CGT), Kazera Global PLC (AIM:KZG), Sanderson Design Group PLC, Wincanton PLC (AIM:WIN)
Economic announcements: Retail Sales (UK), Manufacturing Production (UK)