Week ahead: Non-farm payrolls and UK retail results to steal the show

27th Mar 2015 14:47

Next week is set to be a busy one for financial markets in London with investors having to digest a flurry of global economic data and corporate results from a number of prominent UK retailers.The focus is likely to continue to be on US economic indicators, given recent concerns about a slowdown in growth in the first quarter.The US employment report will be the big release of the week on Friday, given ongoing speculation about the timing of the first rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The consensus forecast is for non-farm payrolls of 250,000 in March, down from 295,000 the previous month, while the jobless rate is predicted to remain unchanged at 5.5% after dropping from 5.7% the previous month.However, as analysts at Danske Bank explained, markets are likely to pay close attention to the average hourly earnings component of the report. "Wage inflation is still subdued and we would expect to see a pick-up soon, as the labour market improvement advances," they said.In the corporate world, high street stalwart Marks & Spencer, DIY retailer Kingfisher and online fashion seller Asos will be among the companies reporting figures next week, with markets waiting to see how the recent drop in inflation and low fuel costs are affecting consumer spending.Kingfisher reports its annual results on Tuesday with pre-tax profit forecast to fall around 10% to £683m in the year ended 31 January 2015, as weakness in France and Poland offsets strong growth in the UK, particularly at Screwfix.Asos is next up on Wednesday with its interims with the focus likely to be on the bottom line. Earlier this month, the retailer impressed with a strong acceleration in sales growth in the second quarter, but said margins had fallen sharply due to price investments and the roll-out of 'zonal pricing'. Zonal pricing allows the group to set localised prices dependent on local conditions, which aims to give protection against FX movements.Thursday will see the release of M&S's fourth-quarter trading update and UBS is looking for a 2% fall in general merchandise like-for-like sales and a flat performance in food. For the non-food division in particular, this would represent a much better showing than the third quarter in which LFL sales plunged 5.8%.Monday March 30INTERIMSQuadrise Fuels InternationalINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEMountview EstatesINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBusiness Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)Personal Income (US) (13:30)Personal Spending (US) (13:30)GMSSerco GroupFINALSAA , AL Noor Hospitals Group, Central Asia Metals, Globaltrans Investment GDR (Reg S), Instem, Learning Technologies Group , Miton Group, Outsourcery, Plant Health Care, XLMediaANNUAL REPORTFidelity European Values, Nichols, NicholsAGMSTurk Ekonomi GDR Bankasi AS GDR (Reg S)UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSConsumer Credit (09:30)M4 Money Supply (09:30)M4 Sterling Lending (09:30)Mortgage Approvals (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATENew Europe Property InvestmentsFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEMitsubhi Electric Corp.Tuesday March 31INTERIMSInland Homes, James HalsteadINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBHP Billiton, The Renewables Infrastructure Group LimitedQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATECustodian Reit , HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd, MedicX Fund Ltd., Premier Energy & Water TrustINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSChicago PMI (US) (14:45)Consumer Confidence (US) (15:00)International Reserves (EU) (11:00)Unemployment Rate (EU) (10:00)Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)FINALSAvengardco Investments Public Ltd GDR, Chesnara, Christie Group, e-Therapeutics, InternetQ, Kingfisher, LiDCO Group, Martinco , MMC Norilsk Nickel ADR, PJSC Centre For Cargo Container Traffic Transcontainer GDR (Reg S)ANNUAL REPORTEMIS Group, Ferrexpo, Old MutualSPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATERensburg AIM VCTAGMSChina Rerun Chemical Group Ltd (DI), ECR Minerals, Horizonte Minerals, Hume Capital Securities, IRF European Finance Investments Ltd (DI), Sula Iron & Gold, Turkiye is Bankasi A.S GDR C Shs (Reg S)TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSThomas Cook GroupUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBalance of Payments (09:30)Consumer Confidence (09:30)Current Account (09:30)GDP (quarterly national accounts) (09:30)GFK Consumer Confidence (00:05)Index of Services (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEAviva 8 3/8% Cumulative Irrd Preference 1, Henderson Opportunities Trust, Innovation Group, Northern Electricity Prf, Rights & Issues Inv Trust Capital Shares, Rights & Issues Inv Trust Income Shares, Temple Bar Inv TrustWednesday April 01INTERIMSASOSINTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEDartyQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATETorchmark Corp.INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSAuto Sales (US) (15:00)Construction Spending (US) (15:00)ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)PMI Manufacturing (EU) (09:00)PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)FINALSEvrazANNUAL REPORTEvrazAGMSAdvance Developing Markets Fund Ltd.UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Manufacturing (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEGeneral Accident (Prf)Thursday April 02INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEClinigen Group, Hansard Global, MJ Gleeson , Pennon Group, River and Mercantile Group , Thorpe (F.W.), Wilmington GroupINTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATEAbbey, Finsbury Food Group, Game Digital, GETECH Group, Henderson EuroTrust, Photo-Me International, Plexus Holdings, Produce Investments, Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., Smith (DS), Volution Group (WI), WolseleyQUARTERLY PAYMENT DATEBarclaysQUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATEInvestors Capital Trust 'A' Shares, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Mercantile Investment Trust (The)INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSBalance of Trade (US) (13:30)Factory Orders (US) (15:00)Goods Orders (US) (15:00)Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)FINALSForbidden TechnologiesANNUAL REPORTAlpha Pyrenees Trust Ltd., Ladbrokes, Pacific Assets Trust, ProPhotonix (DI)SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATERiver and Mercantile GroupSPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEGame DigitalAGMSAmino Technologies, Scottish American Inv Company, XP Power Ltd. (DI)TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSElectrocomponents, Marks & Spencer Group, Tate & LyleUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSPMI Construction (09:30)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEGreencore Group, Hiscox Ltd (CDI), LPA Group, MTI Wireless Edge Ltd., St. Modwen PropertiesFINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATEAmino Technologies, BrainJuicer Group, Cambian Group, Dragon Oil, Fyffes, Glanbia, HGCapital Trust, InterContinental Hotels Group, Interserve, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd, Journey Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Nichols, Pearson, SpaceandPeopleFriday April 03INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSNon-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)ANNUAL REPORTMenzies(John)EGMSOJSC Phosagro GDR (Regs), Public Power GDR SA (Reg S)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATETreatt