An avalanche of news awaits investors next week with a stack of FTSE 100 stalwarts reporting alongside the US tech giants, oh and there’s also a US interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Where to start is likely to be the biggest problem, but for market watchers, it is likely to be what the Fed does that garners the most attention.
Wall Street got a real dose of the jitters when US inflation jumped to 9.1% or the biggest year-on-year increase since November 1981.
Some economists suggested it might prompt the Fed to raise US interest rates by a full 1% at next week’s meeting, instead of the 0.75% expected.
Comments since then by Fed members have eased some of the concerns, but with the ECB surprising Europe with a 0.5% rate hike this week nothing is being taken for granted.
FOMC minutes from the June meeting showed the US economic outlook warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy and “recognised the possibility that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist”.
According to the CME Fedwatch service, markets are now pricing in a 70% likelihood of a 0.75% increase to 2.50% and a 30% chance of the full one-point hike
More pertinent for equity markets will be the quantitative tightening plan, which is already having a big impact on US tech stocks for example which have seen huge swings in prices recently.
The Fed’s balance sheet has so far shrunk by $66bn from its peak, according to CME, as it reduces Quantitative Easing at the rate of $47.5bn a month.
The pace is expected to rise to US$95bn a month in September though as AJ Bell’s Russ Mould points out at US$8.9trn the Fed’s assets are still 8% higher than a year ago and more the double the level before the pandemic.
Floods of company news
In the UK, it’s more of a question of which FTSE 100 companies are not reporting.
Next week sees updates from GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, BT, Lloyds Bank, Barclays, NatWest, Shell, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and Vodafone plus many more.
Likewise, the US is dominated by the FAANG tech brigade with Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook) all issuing updates.
Major announcements expected
Monday 25 July
Interims: Sthree PLC
Trading announcements: Vodafone PLC, Ryanair PLC
AGMs: Axiom European Financial Debt Limited, B.P Marsh & Partners, Keras Resources PLC (AIM:KRS), Naked Wines PLC (AIM:WINE, OTCQX:NWINF), Young & Co’s Brewery PLC
Tuesday 26 July
Finals: Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW), Gore Street Energy Storage Fund PLC (LSE:GSF), Trifast (LSE:TRI) PLC
Interims: Franchise Brands PLC (AIM:FRAN), Gresham Technologies plc (LSE:GHT), Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR), Compass Group PLC (LSE:CPG), Bridgepoint PLC, Informa PLC (LSE:INF), LVMH PLC, Tyman (LSE:TYMN) PLC
Trading announcements: Greencore Group PLC (LSE:GNC), Medica Group PLC (LSE:MGP), easyJet PLC, Coca Cola PLC, Drax PLC
AGMs: AO World PLC (LSE:AO.), Brandshield Systems PLC, Bytes Technology Group PLC (LSE:BYIT, JSE:BYI), Dekel Agri-Vision plc (AIM:DKL)< Firering Strategic Minerals PLC (AIM:FRG), Mitie Group PLC (LSE:MTO), Nanosynth Group PLC (AIM:NNN), NewRiver REIT PLC (LSE:NRR), Ninety One PLC (LSE:N91), OnTheMarket PLC (AIM:OTMP), Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP), Shires Income plc (LSE:SHRS), Telecom Plus PLC (LSE:TEP), Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD), Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ), Xeros Technology Group PLC (AIM:XSG)
Economic updates: House Price Index (US), Consumer Confidence (US), New Homes Sales (US)
Wednesday 27 July
Finals: Hargreaves Services Plc (AIM:HSP, OTC:HGRVF), Yourgene Health PLC
Interims: Breedon Group Plc (AIM:BREE), Conduit Holdings Limited, Ibstock PLC (LSE:IBST), Lancashire Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY), GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK), MusicMagpie PLC, Nichols PLC (AIM:NICL), Primary Health Properties PLC (LSE:PHP, OTC:PHPRF), Quartix Technologies PLC, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB), Rio Tinto PLC (LSE:RIO), Smurfit Kappa Group plc (LSE:SKG), Unite Group PLC (LSE:UTG), British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS), Paragon Banking PLC, Provident Financial (LSE:PFG) PLC, Smurfit Kappa PLC
Trading announcements: Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES)
AGMs: Allied Minds (LSE:ALM) PLC, Aquila Services Group PLC, Caledonia Investments (LSE:CLDN) PLC, Cropper (James) PLC, De La Rue PLC (LSE:DLAR), JPMorgan Japan Small Cap Growth & Income Trust, Mode Global Holdings PLC (LSE:MODE, OTCQB:MODGF), Montanaro UK Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLC, Motorpoint PLC, Peel Hunt Ltd (AIM:PEEL), Shield Therapeutics PLC (AIM:STX, OTCQX:SHIEF), Tatton Asset Management PLC (AIM:TAM)
Economic updates: MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Durable Goods Orders (US), Pending Homes Sales (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US), BRC Shop Price Index (UK)
Thursday 28 July
Finals: SRT Marine Systems PLC (LSE:SRT), Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE)
Interims: Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC), Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA), Hammerson PLC (LSE:HMSO), Inchcape PLC (LSE:INCH), Primary Health Properties PLC (LSE:PHP, OTC:PHPRF), Rathbones Group PLC (LSE:RAT, OTC:RTBBF), RELX PLC (LSE:REL), Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO), Restore Plc (AIM:RST), Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA), Segro PLC, Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN), St James’s Place PLC, Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL), Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN), Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL), BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.), BT PLC, EVRAZ PLC, FDM Group (LSE:FDM) PLC, Greencoat UK Wind PLC (LSE:UKW), Indivior PLC (LSE:INDV), ITV PLC (LSE:ITV), National Express PLC, Nestle PLC, Schroders PLC (LSE:SDR), Vesuvious PLC, Weir PLC
Trading announcements: AVEVA Group PLC, Sage Group PLC, Virgin Wines UK PLC (AIM:VINO), CVS Group (AIM:CVSG)
AGMs: Alien Metals Limited PLC, B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME), CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX), CYBA PLC (LSE:CYBA), DiscoverIE Group PLC, Eurasia Mining PLC (AIM:EUA), GB Group (LSE:GBG) PLC, Graft Polymer UK PLC, Ingenta PLC (AIM:ING), Mediclinic International Plc (LSE:MDC), Oxford Instruments PLC (AIM:OXIG), SEEEN plc (AIM:SEEN), Tate & Lyle PLC (LSE:TATE), Ted Baker PLC (LSE:TED), The Global Smaller Companies Trust PLC
Economic updates: Continuing Claims (US), GDP Preliminary (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)
Friday 29 July
Interims: AIB Group PLC (LSE:AIBG), Croda International PLC (LSE:CRDA), Harbourvest Global Private Equity PLC, Intertek Group PLC (LSE:ITRK), Jupiter Fund Management PLC (LSE:JUP), Morgan Advanced Materials plc (LSE:MGAM), NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), Rightmove PLC (LSE:RMV), IMI PLC (LSE:IMI), IAG PLC
Trading announcements: Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN), Industrial REIT Ltd, AztraZeneca PLC
AGMs: Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (AIM:AVO), Eneraqua Technologies PLC (AIM:ETP), Palace Capital PLC (LSE:PCA), Record PLC (LSE:REC), Tintra PLC (AIM:TNT)
Economic updates: Personal Income (US), Personal Spending (US), Personal Consumption Expenditures (US), Chicago PMI (US), U. of Michigan Confidence (US), Import Price Index (UK), Nationwide House Price Index (UK), M4 Money Supply (UK), Mortgage Approvals (UK).
US highlights
Tuesday: Alphabet, Microsoft, McDonalds, Visa
Wednesday: Meta, Spotify
Thursday: Apple, Amazon