Wednesday preview: US midterms, M&S results in focus

3rd Nov 2026 12:57

(Sharecast News) - There will be a raft of corporate news for investors to sink their teeth into on Wednesday, with trading updates from Barratt Redrow, Coca-Cola HBC, JD Wetherspoon, Lancashire Holdings, Prudential and Smith & Nephew, and half-year results from Marks & Spencer and Trainline.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said differing fortunes for M&S's food and fashion businesses have largely cancelled each other out, with the shares having risen by just 2% over the last 12 months.

"However, more recently there have been some signs of recovery, as evidenced by a share price gain of 25% in the year so far which, while not erasing earlier losses, nonetheless marks a turnaround in investor sentiment. The price remains up by 92% over the last three years and investor support in restoring M&S to its former glories is in evidence.

"The remaining vestiges of the cyber attack which blighted the group last year will show in the comparative numbers, when M&S reported half-year profits of £184.1 million. A figure of around £390 million is expected this time around which would be a significant improvement, if still shy of the £413.1 million achieved two years ago."

Hunter said investors will also be expecting an update on Ocado Retail, which remains a work in progress with increasing signs of improvement. "Revenues are growing and an adjusted operating profit marked an inflection point, even if reaching this stage has taken longer than had been initially hoped," he said.

In the US, quarterly results from Arm, Qualcomm, McDonald's and Uber Technologies will be in focus. Investors will also turn their attention to the tentative results of the US midterm elections.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the polls continue to suggest that it will be a clean sweep for the Democrats on Tuesday evening, and they will win control of both houses of Congress.

"Essentially this means gridlock for US politics for the next two years. This is good news for stocks, which tend to rally in the year after an election, but it also means that any attempt by Democrats to bring the war to an end and reduce pressure on the oil price, could be vetoed by the President."

Although tentative results will be available by Wednesday morning, final results could take weeks.

On the macro front, preliminary eurozone inflation figures for October will be out, along with UK and eurozone PMIs for October.