Monday 10 May
-Halifax UK house price index
-Full-year results from Provident Financial
-Trading update from funeral services provider Dignity
-In Asia, trading updates from silicon chip foundries TSMC and UMC and quarterly results from JD.com
-In the US, quarterly results from BioNTech
Tuesday 11 May
-The Queen’s Speech
The Queen’s Speech will set out the government’s legislative agenda including details on long-term care reform, addressing issues with pension tax relief and the future of the state pension.
AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby said that the speech may reiterate some of the priorities of the Pension Schemes Act including tougher fines for bosses who neglect defined benefit schemes, introducing pensions dashboards and increasing environmental reporting requirements.
The Conservative manifesto pledged to address the ‘net pay anomaly’ which means that one million low earning workers miss out on pension tax relief, while the 2022 review of the state pension age is likely to be mentioned.
-Morrison’s first-quarter trading statement
Group sales grew 9% year-on-year in the prior quarter, on a like-for-like basis, excluding VAT and fuel. For the first quarter this year, analysts are looking for 1.6% like-for-like sales growth but expect a 0.8% drop for the full year as consumer get out and about more.
AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson said investors will likely look for comments on food price and input cost inflation, as well as how the link with Amazon is developing.
-Chinese inflation figures
China’s producer price index saw a 2.6% increase in March as inflation creeps into raw materials. Iron ore, copper, palladium, soybeans and corn are all trading at all-time or multi-year highs.
However, consumer prices are yet to show the same rate of increase with the Chinese CPI rising 0.4% year-on-year in March, although prices were elevated last year due to pork shortages.
-German ZEW business confidence survey
-In Japan, full-year results from Softbank and Nissan Motor
-In Europe, quarterly results from Alstom and Thyssen Krupp
-In the US, quarterly results from Electronic Arts and Palantir
Wednesday 12 May
-US inflation figures
The US consumer price index rose 2.6% year-on-year in March as inflation lurks on the horizon, although Jerome Powell continues to dismiss it as transitory owing to the base effect created by the pandemic, according to AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
He said that investors have grown used to disinflation but as costs start to rise the primacy of paper assets and long-duration assets could come under threat from a switch to real assets such as commodities and real estate.
-Tui half-year results
The world’s largest tourism and travel operator Tui’s financial position is an indicator for the global travel industry as a whole. Tui posted a €699m loss for the first quarter with revenues down 88% as hotels in winter sun resorts remained closed.
But with the planned traffic light system, Tui hopes to operate 75% of its schedule over the coming months.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said that bail outs from the German government and investors means it has a “sizeable spade to dig itself out of another hole, if the tide of infections doesn’t recede as quickly as expected.”
-First-half results from Compass
-Trading statements from National Express and TI Fluid Systems
-UK GDP figures
-UK industrial, manufacturing and construction output figures
-European industrial production data
-US weekly oil inventory figures
-US Federal monthly borrowing data
-In Japan, quarterly results from Toyota
-In Europe, quarterly results from Bayer and Hapag-Lloyd
Thursday 13 May
-US producer price index (PPI)
-BT full-year results
Shares in BT are up more than 40% over the past year but are still not as high as they were in 1985, reflecting the company’s £12bn net debt position, its £6.3bn in lease liabilities and its £4.9bn pension liability, as well as tight regulation and fierce competition.
Despite a 10% dividend growth target outlined by former CEO Gavin Patterson, dividends were cut to zero a year ago. Analysts currently forecast a dividend of around 7p a share in the new financial year.
Current chief executive, Philip Jansen, has guided towards adjusted earning between £7.3 and £7.5bn, down from £7.9bn a year ago reflecting lower revenues, asset sales and ongoing declines in legacy operations such as landline communication
-Full-year results from Burberry and 3i
-Trading updates from Greggs, Elementis and ContourGlobal
-US weekly unemployment claims
-In Asia, quarterly results from Alibaba
-In the US, quarterly results from Airbnb, Coinbase Global and DoorDash
-Disney half-year results
While the launch of Disney+ hit 94.9m subscribers in January, visitor numbers at Disney theme parks look set to remain below normal and the ongoing switch to streaming does not bode well for the group’s ABC broadcast network or cable outlets like ESPN, according to Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Nicholas Hyett.
Despite this, Disney posted a profit in the first quarter and the focus of these results will be on the strength of recovery in its theme parks.
Friday 14 May
-First-half results from Sage
-US retail sales figures
-US industrial production and capacity utilisation
-In Japan, quarterly results from Honda
-In Asia, quarterly results from SMIC and Hon Hai Precision
