The last week of August is often the calm before the more stormy seas of September, though there should be enough to keep markets turning over, including results from a handful of well-followed UK and overseas companies.
Among the London contingent, JD Sports, Prudential, Bunzl and Hochschild Mining are reporting.
Further afield, Nvidia’s earnings are the big ticket item in the coming week, while Chinese giants such as electric vehicle powerhouse BYD and oil giant CNOOC, and US names like HP, Dell, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dollar General represent sectors of note.
There are some big US economic data points that could move markets too, including GDP, consumer confidence and PCE inflation.
Monday 25 August
UK Bank Holiday.
Economic announcements: New Home Sales (US), Building Permits (US)
Tuesday 26 August
Bunzl PLC (LSE:BNZL) reports after a profit warning in April, when it terminated its share buyback programme, sending its shares to levels seen in 2021.
A second-quarter update in June contained no further shocks with management stressing that actions were underway to improve performance.
Investors will be looking to see whether the downgraded full-year guidance of “moderate revenue growth” is held, with £11.8 billion generated last year, and operating margins creeping up to almost 8% versus 8.3% last year.
Analysts expect guidance will remain intact despite trading conditions remaining “deeply unhelpful” in North America and the UK.
Announcements expected:
Interims: Ashtead Technology, Bunzl, MTI Wireless Edge, Prudential
Overseas announcements: Coles
Economic announcements: BRC Shop Price Index (UK), Durable Goods (US), S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price (US), Consumer Confidence (US)
Wednesday 27 August
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) will issue a second-quarter trading statement on Wednesday, with investors focused on the impact of tariffs and the margin performance in the US.
The July 2024 acquisition of Hibbett has made the US JD’s largest revenue contributor, accounting for around 37% of sales. With much of its product sourced from Asia, analysts note that tariff exposure has become a central risk.
Commentary on pricing will also be watched closely, as JD has sought to resist discounting despite competitive pressure, with some analysts raising questions about this in the run-up to results.
The bigger news will come after the closing bell in New York, when the $4.2 trillion colossus of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) unveils its earnings for the past quarter, with China one of the key topics.
Ahead of the highly anticipated earnings, the company had negotiated the resumption of sales of its restricted H20 chip to China, though reports this week suggested that Beijing is trying to put pressure on domestic companies not to rely too heavily on the US company.
Announcements expected:
Trading updates: JD Sports
Interims: Hochschild Mining
Overseas announcements: Abercrombie & Fitch, Agilent, Best Buy, BYD, Crowdstrike, Eiffage, HP, JM Smucker, Kohl’s, NetApp, Ping-An, Snowflake
Economic announcements: CBI Distributive Trade (UK), Oil Inventories (US)
Thursday 28 August
Announcements expected:
Interims: Chesnara, Hunting, MacFarlane Group, PPHE Hotel Group, Puretech Health
Finals: South32
Overseas announcements: Brown-Forman, Brunello Cucinelli, Campbell Soup, China Life, CNOOC, Dell, Delivery Hero, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, Hormel, Marvell, Pernod Ricard
Ex-dividends to reduce FTSE 100 by: 4.3 points (Aviva, Glencore, Croda International, LondonMetric Property, Auto Trader, Alliance Witan, Games Workshop)
Economic announcements: Economic Sentiment (EU), GDP (US)
Friday 29 August
With the US Federal Reserve coming under increasing pressure from the Trump administration to cut rates rapidly while the central bank waits to see if there is any effect from tariffs, Friday brings the PCE measure of inflation.
Inflation at a PCE level still remains above target at 2.8%, however, says analyst Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights, “recent sharp rises in PPI inflation may well make Fed officials a little more cautious when it comes to their September meeting and their next rate decision”.
Announcements expected:
Overseas announcements: Cosco Shipping, Frontline, SAIC Motor
Economic announcements: Car Production (UK), Nationwide Housing Prices (UK), Core PCE Price (US), Goods Trade Balance (US), Unemployment (JAP), Retail Sales (JAP), Industrial Production (JAP)
