Retail sector updates highlight of otherwise quiet week

After last week’s deluge of major events this week goes too far the other way, with a PAINFULLY boring economic calendar.

UK
There is almost nothing going on this week in the UK. The manufacturing and industrial production readings join the goods trade balance figures on Thursday, and that’s genuinely about it. A far cry from last week, when investors weren’t just contending with the Bank of England interest rate vote, but a trio of manufacturing, construction and services PMIs.

While the economic agenda is effectively empty, the earnings calendar is thankfully pretty damn full. G4S, Imperial Brands and Primark-parent Associated British Foods (see below) report on Tuesday, followed by SSE, Persimmon, Wetherspoons and Marks & Spencer on Wednesday. Thursday’s then a bumper day for companies, with Auto Trader, Burberry, Dairy Crest, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and SuperGroup joined by FTSE 100 constituents National Grid, AstraZeneca and Sainsbury’s.

US
The US markets are just as quiet this week, with the JOLTS job openings on Tuesday, the jobless claims on Thursday and not much else. There is the preliminary UoM consumer sentiment reading on Friday, but the impact of that might be muted due to it being Veteran’s Day.

Eurozone
The Eurozone is a bit busier than its US and UK peers. There are a slew of services PMIs on Monday, joined by the Sentix investor confidence reading and the latest round of Eurogroup meetings. The region-wide retail sales then arrive on Tuesday, with the EU economic forecasts on Wednesday and a hodgepodge of German inflation, Italian GDP and French industrial production readings on Friday.

Stock of the week: Associated British Foods PLC – Full Year Results
Associated British Foods’ most recent statement came on September 11th and, despite some decent figures, the fact the firm expects 2018 ‘full year margins to be similar to this year’ caused investors to send the stock 5% lower. Still, ABF claimed ‘adjusted operating profit for the group will be well ahead of last year’, and that Primark’s share of the UK market had risen ‘significantly’. Total full year sales rocketed 13% higher at the fashion brand, though a comparatively meagre 1% increase like-for-likes shows just how reliant it is on new store openings.

In terms of Tuesday’s full year results, investors will be expecting big things after those comments back in September. Any update on its outlook for 2018, especially given the worrying retail sector signs in the UK, will also be welcome (Primark arguably stands to benefit from a consumer spending squeeze given how cheap it is compared to its competitors).

• UK 100
• Wall Street
• Cable
• Gold

Open (Monday)

7496.0

Close (Thursday)

7567.7

Change

+0.96%

High

7570.5

Low

7443.5

Open (Monday)

23406.0

Close (Thursday)

23523.5

Change

+0.50%

High

23529.5

Low

23324.5

Open (Monday)

1.31342

Close (Thursday)

1.30532

Change

-0.62%

High

1.33213

Low

1.30430

Open (Monday)

1273.6

Close (Thursday)

1278.4

Change

+0.38%

High

1285.2

Low

1268.4