Wednesday preview: US inflation, BoE's Carney, Burberry
Burberry Group
1,144.50p
16:35 25/04/24
Barring surprises, the focus of Wednesday's session is unlikely to be on economic releases.
FTSE 100
8,078.86
17:14 25/04/24
FTSE 350
4,434.34
17:09 25/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,387.94
16:49 25/04/24
Personal Goods
15,870.16
17:09 25/04/24
Nevertheless, the release of figures on wholesale prices Stateside, referencing the month of June, at 1330 BST, will be of interest given how traders are very much attuned to price pressures in the US right now and on the implications they might have for the Federal Reserve' decision-making process.
The minutes of the European Central Bank's last policy meeting, which are due to be released earlier in the session, will also be closely scrutinised for any unexpected hints regarding the likely pace of policy tightening in the euro area.
To take note of, Governor Mark Carney is set to deliver a speech at the NBER conference on the Global Financial Crisis, in Masssachussetts, at 1635 BST.
Although it is an 'invitation only' event and no text is set for release, traders might do well to keep an eye out for it - just in case.
In particular, and given that recent developments in the UK's withdrawal process from the European Union are likely a welcome development for policymakers, any remarks on the subject might perhaps move markets.
The corporate news-flow is set to pick-up considerably on Wednesday, with several FTSE 100 constituents set to update investors, including Barratt Developments, JD Wetherspoon, Micro Focus and Burberry.
Burberry's first quarter figures, in particular, are likely to make for an interesting read, given the recent run-up in the fashion retailer's shares and its premium - even if deservedly so - valuation.
On 29 June, analysts at Credit Suisse bumped-up their target price on the shares from 1,950p to 2,200p.
That was despite the recent gains in the share price, which - at 26 times' the investment bank's estimate for Burberry's profits in calendar year 2018 - had put them at a premium versus the sector, which was then trading at a multiple of 23.
Analyst G.Gauville reiterated the stance he had outlined in September, when he argued that "Burberry had most of the attributes of a successful turnaround story including a new creative director, a new management team and more cost discipline."
Hence, and assuming the company's growth in like-for-like terms was set to accelerate and that its margins were set to grow from fiscal year 2020 onwards, then such multiples were "not expensive", he said.
Under his 'blue-sky' scenario for the firm, Burberry was set to grow its LFL sales by 12% in fiscal 2020 and 2021, versus growth for the sector of 4% and 6% in each of those years, respectively.
Wednesday July 11
INTERIMS
Low & Bonar
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
XP Power Ltd. (DI)
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)
Wholesales Inventories (US) (15:00)
FINALS
Micro Focus International
EGMS
Trinity Exploration & Production
AGMS
Air Partner, Aminex, Audioboom Group, Aveva Group, Biotech Growth Trust (The), BT Group, Fishing Republic , LondonMetric Property, Martin Currie Asia Unconstrained Trust , MyCelx Technologies Corporation (DI), Nex Group , OnTheMarket, Sainsbury (J), Veltyco Group
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Barratt Developments, Burberry Group, Hotel Chocolat Group , Pagegroup, Wetherspoon (J.D.), Wetherspoon (J.D.)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Alliance Pharma