BP PLC (LSE:BP.), BT Group, GSK, Next and Rolls-Royce, plus many more, mean this is another busy week for investors in London's blue chip shares.
Elsewhere there are rate hikes expected from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday, with plenty of questions about how much further these policy moves have to run and what the effect will be on economies and on stock markets.
Among US earnings reports over the week are Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), AMD, Coinbase, Illumina, Moderna, Pfizer, PayPal, Robinhood, Starbucks, Uber and Virgin Galactic.
MONDAY 31 OCTOBER
Significant announcements on Monday
Finals: Lok’n Store PLC
AGMs: Aberforth Split Level Income Trust PLC, Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies, City of London Investment Group (AIM:CLIG) PLC, GSTechnologies Ltd (LSE:GST), Springfield Properties PLC (AIM:SPR), Superdry PLC (LSE:SDRY), Tavistock Investments PLC (AIM:TAVI), Time Finance plc (AIM:TIME)
Economic announcements: Consumer Credit (UK), M4 Money Supply (UK), Mortgage Approvals (UK), Chicago PMI (US)
US earnings Monday: Arista Networks
TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER
BP PLC will report third-quarter results on Tuesday a week after rival Shell unveiled softer but still massive profits and shareholder returns.
BP's half-year results in August were a bumper set, but investors and analysts will be expecting a drop off after oil prices fell roughly a quarter since June - though general shareholder returns are still expected (as detailed in the full BP preview).
Elsewhere there will be an update from Rentokil Initial PLC following up on its half-year that saw organic revenue growth ex-disinfection of 7.3. with Pest Control +5.6%, Hygiene & Wellbeing +10.0%, France Workwear +16.0%) and fully offset input inflation with pricing.
For 3Q, broker Peel Hunt anticipates continued robust organic revenue growth ex-disinfection; ongoing success in managing cost inflation through pricing to protect margin, while continuing to drive improvements through increased scale and density; and an increase in the PBT currency tailwind of £10-20m as around 90% of revenue is out of the UK).
Across the pond, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) will be among the US earning reports, with full year revenues expected to rise to a record US$102bn for the drug colossus this fiscal year, following price rises, the Covid vaccine and its new Covid pill.
Since its second-quarter numbers in July Pfizer shares have slipped back to a one year low last month on concerns that we might see lower demand for its Covid products and a lack of new excitement in its pipeline.
Significant announcements on Tuesday
Trading updates: IWG PLC (LSE:IWG), Rentokil Initial, TP ICAP Group PLC
Interims: BP PLC, NCC Group PLC (LSE:NCC)
AGMs: JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust PLC, Murray Income Trust plc (LSE:MUT), OPG Power Ventures PLC (AIM:OPG), Vietnam Holding Ltd
Economic announcements: PMI Manufacturing (UK), PMI Manufacturing (US), Construction Spending (US), ISM Manufacturing (US), ISM Prices Paid (US)
US earnings Tuesday: Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY), Newmont Corp, Pfizer, Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Uber Technologies
WEDNESDAY 2 NOVEMBER
If GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) hoped spinning off its consumer household arm Haleon in July would lead to an instant re-rating to a supercharged US pharma level, it must be sorely disappointed so far.
Shares have barely moved either way since the separation, but next week’s results should give a clearer picture of where new GSK sits in the pharma league table (as explored more fully in the GSK preview).
Next PLC (LSE:NXT) will also update the market with a third-quarter trading statement on Wednesday, and investors will be hoping for no more profit warnings from the high street royalty.
In its interim results issued at the end of September, the FTSE 100 retailer rowed back on its guidance for full-year profit before tax, trimming it back by £20mln to £840mln (as features in the full Next preview).
Stock markets sentiment for the day will be set by some caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve decision later.
Significant announcements on Wednesday
Trading updates: Gem Diamonds Ltd, Hiscox PLC, Morgan Sindall Group PLC (LSE:MGNS), Next PLC, Retonkil Initial PLC, Smurfit Kappa Group plc (LSE:SKG), Weir Group PLC (LSE:WEIR)
Interims: Appreciate Group PLC (LSE:APP), GSK PLC, Novo Nodisk PLC, Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ)
AGMs: Hansard Global (LSE:HSD) PLC, IDE Group (AIM:IDE) Holdings PLC, NCC Group PLC
Economic announcements: Federal Reserve decision (US), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
US earnings Wednesday: The Estee Lauder Companies, Esty Inc, Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Class A, Qualcomm Inc, Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD), Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU)
THURSDAY 3 NOVEMBER
A quarterly update from Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) is expected to reveal the airline engine manufacturer has continued its gradual signs of recovery from its lull during the pandemic.
Underlying revenue has been seen to improve throughout the year, particularly for the power systems and civil aerospace markets (see the full Rolls preview).
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) shares have been climbing higher ahead of this week's half-year numbers.
It seems the presence of French billionaire Patrick Drahi on the shareholder register - and maybe the spinning off of BT Sport - is enough to counterbalance the past few months alone seeing a torrent of apparently bad news: stiffening competition in the UK telecoms market, concern over rising interest rates with BT’s huge debt pile, an ongoing staff pay dispute, alarms for its pension fund and a fine for its accountant over audit failings (read the preview of BT's interims here).
First-half profits from J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) on Thursday are expected to be at the bottom end of the supermarket chain's guidance range from modest sales growth and tighter margins.
Recent evidence via ONS retail sales figures indicated shoppers are tightening their belts more than forecast, which doesn’t bode well for own brand homeware and Argos ranges, said one analyst (in the full SBRY preview).
The Bank of England will make its first policy decision since being forced to intervene in bond markets after the calamitous Liz Truss-Kwasi Kwarteng fiscal fiasco.
Unlike the Fed, there’s a big debate over how much the Bank’s monetary policy committee will hike interest rates – half, three-quarters or even a whole percentage point – amid still-rampant inflation and the tight labour market but the shudders being felt in the housing market and wider economy (see the BoE and Fed preview here).
While also mulling the previous day's US Fed decision markets will also look ahead to US mid-term elections the following week - being held on 8 November.
Economists at ING said that with polls shifting in the direction of a Republican-controlled Congress, this will greatly limit what President Joe Biden can achieve in the second half of his presidential term.
"This means less government influence on the economy and will put more pressure on the Fed to cut rates in the second half of 2023 to support the economy, as nothing will come from the fiscal side."
Significant announcements on Thursday
Trading updates: Derwent London PLC (AIM:DLN), Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LSE:HIK, OTC:HKMPF), Howden Joinery Group (LSE:HWDN) PLC, Lancashire Holdings PLC, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN), TI Fluid Systems PLC (LSE:TIFS)
Interims: Barrick Developments PLC, BT Group PLC, Helios Towers PLC (LSE:HTWS), Lancashire Holdings PLC, Nuformix PLC (LSE:NFX), RS Group PLC (LSE:RS1), J Sainsbury PLC, RS Group PLC,Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN)
Finals: Gattaca PLC (AIM:GATC), UP Global Sourcing Holdings PLC (LSE:UPGS)
AGMs: Darktrace PLC (LSE:DARK)
Ex-dividends to reduce FTSE 100 by: 6.18 points (Shell PLC, Whitbread)
Economic announcements: PMI Composite (UK), BoE Interest Rate Decision (UK), BoE Interest Rate Minutes (UK), Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), PMI Composite (US), PMI Services (US), Factory Orders (US), ISM Prices Paid (US), ISM Services (US)
US earnings Thursday: Ball Corp, Barrick Gold, Moderna, Amgen, Block Inc (NYSE:SQ), Coinbase Global, Illumina, PayPal Holdings, Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX), Twilio, Virgin Galactic
FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER
There may be a feeling of ‘after the lord major’s show’ for the normally all-important US non-farm payrolls that comes out on Friday, following the Fed meeting earlier in the week.
The US jobs market has continued to hold up well despite concerns over slowing consumer spending and increased costs on the part of some US businesses.
This is despite reports of job losses from some large companies, including in recent earnings reports.
Job vacancies remain high, with weekly jobless claims still at a low 230k a week.
September’s NFP payrolls number was a solid 263,000, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, in part due to a drop in the participation rate, while wage growth fell to 5%.
“This continues to be a puzzle given the continued rising cost of living and the fact it is 1% below the levels it was pre-pandemic,” said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets, noting that wage growth was hardly ripping up any trees at its lowest level this year.
“Expectations are for another slowdown in jobs growth to 200k which would be the lowest number this year, along with the unemployment rate ticking back up to 3.6%.”
Significant announcements on Friday
Trading updates: 4imprint Group Plc (AQSE:FOUR), Morgan Advanced Materials plc (LSE:MGAM), TBC Bank (LSE:TBCG) Group PLC
Interims: Apax Global Alpha PLC
AGMs: Celtic PLC, DFS Furniture PLC (LSE:DFS)
Economic announcements: PMI Construction (UK), Non-farm Payrolls (US), Unemployment Rate (US)