Aside from the all-important fiscal statement from the new chancellor on Thursday, there are a plethora of big company announcements scheduled for the coming week, including blue chips BAE Systems, British Land, Burberry, Experian (LSE:EXPN), Halma, Imperial Brands, SSE and Vodafone.
Mid- and small caps include CMC Markets, Kainos, Premier Food, Virgin Money and Royal Mail owner IDS.
There's also plenty of potentially market-moving macroeconomic data due, including UK jobs, inflation and retail sales, along with US housing market numbers, retail sales and producer prices.
MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER
A quiet start to the week in terms of diary news includes FTSE 250-listed Kainos Group PLC (LSE:KNOS), which when it last updated the market in September said trading was “very strong”.
The firm acknowledged the volatile economic backdrop but said its “robust pipeline, strong balance sheet and significant contracted backlog” made it well positioned.
Significant announcements on Monday
Interims: Kainos Group PLC, SRT Marine Systems PLC (LSE:SRT), Totally PLC (AIM:TLY)
Trading updates: Diversified Energy Company PLC (LSE:DEC, OTCQX:DECPF), Informa PLC (LSE:INF), S4 Capital PLC (LSE:SFOR)
TUESDAY 15 NOVEMBER
As a major defence supplier BAE Systems PLC (LSE:BA.) has been a share price winner in 2022 thanks to the war in Ukraine, rising 36% year to date.
In Tuesday’s third-quarter update, analysts expect more upgrades and good news on orders (see more details in the BAE preview).
As well as defence companies, other winners this year have been tobacco companies, with Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) taking its turn today with full year results.
At its last trading update, boss Stefan Bomhard upgraded sales growth guidance and said the company was launching the next, three-year phase of its turnaround, focused on increasing sales at a mid-single-digit percentage, with adjusted operating profit also growing at a mid-single-digit percentage (read more in the Imperial preview).
On the other side of the coin, you need a good memory to recall when mobile giant Vodafone PLC was a growth stock and Tuesday’s update is not going to reverse the flatlining.
There has been lots happening in recent months, but investors have largely been unimpressed with management’s efforts – with disappointment even when an agreement was made to raise cash from selling down its stake in mast unit Vantage Towers (broker views ahead of the results have been mixed).
As for macro matters, as the Bank of England mulls when to slow down its pace of interest rate hikes, UK jobs numbers and inflation data of key interest on the coming Tuesday and Wednesday.
Economists expect unemployment to remain at its 48-year low of 3.5% in the three months to August, with wage growth unchanged too.
Significant announcements on Tuesday
Finals: Imperial Brands PLC
Interims: Cropper (James) PLC, Land Securities Group PLC (LSE:LAND), Ninety One PLC (LSE:N91), Wincanton PLC (LSE:WIN), Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD), Workspace Group PLC (LSE:WKP)
Trading updates: BAE Systems PLC, Vesuvius Plc (LSE:VSVS)
AGMs: Berkeley Energia Ltd (LSE:BKY, ASX:BKY), Craneware PLC (AIM:CRW), Unicorn Mineral Resources PLC (LSE:UMR)
Economic announcements: Claimant Count Rate (UK), Unemployment Rate (UK), Producer Price Index (US)
US earnings: The Home Depot, Walmart
WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER
SSE PLC (LSE:SSE) is due to release its half-year figures on Wednesday, with the power company expected to report significant growth in earnings compared to last year.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused gas prices to shoot up, SSE said additional profit will be reinvested in projects that “will provide long-term solutions that help reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile international gas prices” (see full SSE preview for more on its plans and the potential impact of a windfall tax).
Following interims from Land Securities a day earlier, FTSE 100 property developer rival British Land PLC takes its turn.
Elsewhere, CMC Markets the first half enjoying more volatile and active market conditions, while 2022 as a while is “a year of transition”, according to broker Peel Hunt, with lots of work to deliver to make the business more diverse and resilient.
“We expect updates on the launch of the investment platform and the expansion of other products, all leveraging the core platform strengths.”
As a ‘digital middleman’, Experian PLC sits between borrowers and lenders, a sweet spot as demand for data from both sides continues with strength, say analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Half-year results next week should shed light on whether the group’s target of 7-9% organic growth this year remains intact. Analysts remain a little more cautions, expecting growth toward the lower end of that range.”
UK consumer price inflation is expected to be up 10.6% from 10.1% in September, but with core CPI to have dipped to 6.4% from 6.5%.
Most economists predict that October’s inflation data will mark the peak for UK CPI.
This data will include the latest rise in electricity/gas prices, which came in last month but are now being fixed by the government until at least April.
Significant announcements on Wednesday
Finals: Sage Group PLC
Interims: British Land Company PLC (LSE:BLND), Castings PLC (LSE:CGS), CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX), Experian PLC, Mediclinic International Plc (LSE:MDC), Premier Foods PLC, Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust (LSE:SREI) Ltd, SSE PLC
Trading updates: Bridgepoint Group PLC (LSE:BPT)
AGMs: Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM), European Opportunities Trust PLC (LSE:JEO), GreenX Metals Ltd (LSE:GRX, ASX:GRX), Litigation Capital Management Limited, McBride PLC (LSE:MCB), Petra Diamonds PLC, Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) PLC
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index (UK), Producer Price Index (UK), Retail Price Index (UK), MBA Mortgage Applications, Import and Export Price Indices (US), Retail Sales (US), Industrial Production (US), Business Inventories (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
US earnings: Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Nvidia
THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER
The chancellor of the exchequer will be centre of attention on Thursday, with what is being heralded as the toughest fiscal statement in over a decade.
Jeremey Hunt has already warned that some “eye-watering” decisions need to be made on spending cuts and tax increases, with many moving parts that investors will want to keep an eye out for (see the full Autumn Statement preview here)
Before that, there will be a busy morning of financial news, including from Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS) (International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS)), which will report half-year results amid a continued uncomfortable atmosphere for investors, management and workers.
Despite sector peers reporting strong market dynamics, a big focus for the FTSE 250-listed group will be on any updates on the impact strikes are having on business performance (see full IDS preview here).
For incomes investors, Halma PLC (LSE:HLMA) has long been one to watch, with its first-half pre-close update confirming progress in line with the board’s expectations.
“Cash conversion will reflect targeted investment in working capital to maintain supply chain resilience, but the balance sheet strength also leaves plenty of scope to invest in future organic growth and acquisitions,” said broker Peel Hunt.
Significant announcements on Thursday
Finals: Grainger Plc (LSE:GRI), Virgin Money UK PLC (LSE:VMUK)
Interims: Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY), Great Portland Estates (LSE:GPOR) PLC, Halma PLC, Intermediate Capital Group (LSE:ICP) PLC, International Distribution Services PLC, Investec PLC (LSE:INVP), Mitie Group PLC (LSE:MTO), Pershing Square Holdings (LSE:PSH) PLC, Syncona Limited (LSE:SYNC)
Trading updates: Close Brothers Group PLC (LSE:CBG), Spirax-Sarco Engineering (LSE:SPX) PLC
AGMs: Advance Energy PLC (AIM:ADV), Close Brothers Group PLC, Cordel Group PLC (AIM:CRDL), Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC (AIM:EYE), Finsbury Food Group (AIM:FIF) PLC, J D Wetherspoon PLC, Kier Group PLC (LSE:KIE), New Star Investment Trust PLC, Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSIT), Supermarket Income REIT PLC (LSE:SUPR, OTC:SUPIF), Thor Mining PLC (AIM:THR, OTC:THORF, ASX:THR), Thorpe PLC
Ex-dividends to reduce FTSE 100 by: 6.47 points (AVEVA, B&M European Value, Bunzl, DCC, GSK, Pershing Square Holdings, Unilever)
Economic announcements: Building Permits (US), Continuing Claims (US), Housing Starts (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US)
US earnings: Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), JD.com, Applied Materials, Palo Alto Networks
FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER
UK retail sales data from the ONS is due on Friday, following some pretty poor numbers in the past two readings: down 1.7% in August and down 1.4% in September both on a month-on-month basis.
"With the new energy price cap kicking in at the beginning of October it’s not hard to see that consumers have been reining back spending due to uncertainty over the lead up to October, as well as the farce that passes for our political institutions," said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets.
He added: "With consumer confidence already at or close to record lows, it’s likely that consumers, if they do have money to spend, are probably holding back ahead of the end of the year and the Christmas period."
Significant announcements on Friday
Interims: Liontrust Asset Management (LSE:LIO) PLC
AGMs: MJ Gleeson (LSE:GLE) PLC, Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, AIM:SVML)
Economic announcements: Retail Sales (UK)