Monday 18 April
- – Japanese inflation figures
- – Chinese retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment growth data
- – US NAHB housebuilding industry survey
- – International Monetary Fund spring meeting (first day of three)
- – In the US, quarterly results from Bank of America and United Airlines
Tuesday 19 April
- – US building permits
- – US housing starts
- – In Europe, a trading update from L’Oreal
- – In the US, quarterly results from Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, IBM, Halliburton, Hasbro and Harley-Davidson
Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said: “The market didn’t react kindly when Netflix lowered subscriber expectations for this quarter. The media giant expects to add 2.5 million subscribers, down from four million a year ago. It’s crucial Netflix hits this target. The group says the slowdown comes because of the timing of new content, and there’s cautious optimism it will be able to reach the much needed 2.5 million figure.
“The only other thing that will really move the dial is any talk of margins. Expectations have been lowered, largely because of unfavourable currency movements. This sort of thing can’t be helped, so there’ll be a close eye on content costs instead. Competition in the sector is at fever pitch, and being the go-to streamer of choice means spending big bucks. While a big content bill is to be expected, it would be good to see margin expectations of 19 – 20% remain intact.
“Any further information on Netflix’s foray into gaming would also be welcomed. Investing in this new area is one way to compete harder in the battle for our eyeballs. So far though, details are thin on the ground.”
Wednesday 20 April
- – First-quarter results from Rio Tinto
- – First-half results from Carr’s Group
- – Trading statement from Bunzl, Hunting and Centamin
- – German producer price (factory gate) inflation
- – German Ifo business climate survey
- – US Federal Reserve Beige Book
- – US existing homes sales
- – US oil inventories
- – In Latin America, quarterly results from Antofagasta
- – In Europe, quarterly results from ASML, Heineken and Sandvik
- – In the US, quarterly results from Procter & Gamble, CSX, LAM Research, Baker Hughes, United Rentals and Alcoa
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “Shares in Chilean copper mining giant Antofagasta are up by more than a third in the past two months. Copper is up by just 5% but the metal is up by around a sixth over the past year. Russia is not a major copper provider, but many investors are looking toward raw materials and commodities as a possible haven from the ravages of inflation, not least because central banks cannot print them.
“Copper is trading around 10% below all-time high of $11,300 a tonne, reached last autumn. Usually, a firm copper price this would be seen as a good sign for the health of the global economy, as the metal’s malleability, conductivity and ductility mean it has many industrial uses across infrastructure, construction and cars to name but three – it is not for nothing that it has the nickname ‘Doctor Copper’.”
Mould said shareholders will be focusing on three sets of figures: output, costs and capital expenditure. “All three of those will shape profits and cash flow and any change in guidance on any of them could lead to changes in analysts’ forecasts for earnings and dividends. At the moment, the consensus forecast for Antofagasta’s profits to drop by just over 10% to $4.2bn, based on its preferred metric of earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), while the dividend is expected to come in at $0.95 per share, down from $1.42 in 2021, owing to that mix of lower output and higher costs.”
Commodity price strength has also buoyed the share price of Rio Tinto, which is up by almost a third since Christmas, Mould added. “Fears of a Chinese slowdown appear to be dissipating, thanks to hope that interest rate cuts and stimulus packages will offset the impact of fresh viral variants and the property and construction sectors’ debt woes, and investors are scrambling to find exposure to commodities and ‘real’ assets, rather than paper ones such as cash and bonds, as inflation continues to gallop higher.
“The prospect of disruption to Russian and Ukrainian supplies of key raw materials is providing prices with a further boost. Russia is a top-two producer globally of aluminium and diamonds and Russia and Ukraine both rank in the top six for iron ore. Iron ore was Rio Tinto’s biggest earner in 2021, at almost three-quarters of profits, while aluminium was second at around one-eighth of income.”
Mould said the Q1 trading update “usually focuses on just production figures and analysts will be looking for numbers that are consistent with the forecasts for 2022 made by chief executive Jakob Stausholm alongside the full-year results for 2021 back in February. Rio Tinto expects an increase in production across all of its major products, with the possible exception of aluminium, which could come in flat to slightly down”.
Thursday 21 April
- – Trading statements from RELX, Meggitt, Rentokil Initial and Foxtons
- – Flash purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for manufacturing from Japan, Europe and UK
- – EU inflation figures
- – US weekly jobless claims
- – In Australia, a trading update from BHP
- – In Asia, quarterly results from TSMC
- – In Europe, quarterly results from Nestle, ABB and Akzo Nobel
- – In the US, quarterly results from Danaher, AT&T, Philip Morris, Freeport McMoRan and Mattel
Friday 22 April
- – UK retail sales
- – UK consumer confidence
- – In Europe, quarterly results from SAP, Volvo and Schindler
- – In the US, quarterly results from American Express, Honeywell, Schlumberger and Kimberly-Clark
