Monday 25 September
- First-half results from Personal Group and Premier African Minerals
- In the US, quarterly results from Ferguson
- European economic surveys
On Monday, investors will receive economic sentiment updates from multiple sources in Europe.
Both the German Ifo survey and the Belgian National Bank’s Courbe Synthétique are due to be released on the same day.
Assessing the current state of play on the continent, Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director and Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said: “The soundtrack to the European economy right now, at least if economists are to be believed, is a drumbeat of doom.
“High labour costs, ongoing worries over energy supply, weak banks and a fragmented banking market are all concerns, as are rising interest rates, the risk of sticky inflation — especially if oil and gas prices go higher – and a weak Chinese economy, as that is a major destination for European, and especially German, exports.
“Now, stockmarket investors are listening to a different tune. The Stoxx Europe 600 index is barely 5% below its January 2022 all-time peak and Germany’s forty-stock DAX benchmark stands within a smidgeon of its highest ever, despite a revival of the late 1990s mantra that the country is the sick man of Europe, at least from an economic point of view.”
Tuesday 26 September
- First-half results from Avacta and 1Spatial
- Trading statements from ASOS and Next 15
- Full-year results from Close Brothers
- Japanese inflation
- AG Barr results
On Tuesday, beverage producer AG Barr will unveil its first-half results.
Shares in the firm are roughly level over the past 12 months, and no higher than a decade ago, which Mould and Hewson attribute to a “succession of challenges” thrown at the firm.
They said: “These challenges include regulation on sugar content, Covid and lockdowns, carbon dioxide shortages, input cost inflation and the uncertainty caused by Scotland’s proposed deposit return scheme (although this has now been delayed).
“The firm is also having to adapt to changes in consumer tastes and trends. Since the end of lockdowns, mixers, juices and lemonade have declined in volume and value, to reflect the normalisation of home consumption, while on trade volumes in bars and restaurants and hospitality venues has recovered steadily.
“Sports and energy drinks have shown robust growth. AG Barr’s acquisitions of Boost and oat milk maker MOMA are both designed to broaden its product portfolio.”
The duo added: “August’s trading update was very solid, as outgoing chief executive Roger White flagged total sales growth of 33% in the six months to July 2023 to £210m, thanks to last December’s purchase of Boost. Like-for-like sales growth was 10%.
“Analysts will look for further detail on growth across product segments and also the mix between volume and price. In the fiscal year to January 2023, the total UK soft drinks market saw volumes drop 2.2% and value rise by 8.8%, to imply price increases of some 11%.”
- US S&P/Case-Shiller house price index
- US Conference Board consumer confidence survey
- US new homes sales
Wednesday 27 September
- Full-year results from NCC, Finsbury Food and Avingtrans
- First-half results from Pendragon and Saga
- Analysts’ meeting at TI Fluid Systems
- US consumer durables orders
- US oil inventories
- In Europe, quarterly results from H&M
- In the US, quarterly results from Micron
Thursday 28 September
- Full-year results from PZ Cussons
- First-half results from Animalcare, HSS Hire and Card Factory
- German retail sales
- US pending homes sales
- US weekly initial unemployment claims
- In the US, quarterly results from Accenture, Nike, Jabil, CarMax and BlackBerry
Friday 29 September
- Purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for manufacturing and services industries from China
- UK mortgage approvals
- EU flash inflation figure
- US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index
- In the US, quarterly results from Carnival
