Proactive Investors - After a low-key-looking Monday, everything goes full banana from Tuesday next week as US tech giants, inflation numbers and big banks all add to what was already a full UK results calendar.
From a London perspective, easyJet (LON:EZJ) on Tuesday kicks off the main action with its second-quarter/interim update.
Murmurings from chief executive Johan Lundgren that full-year pre-tax income will exceed consensus £126mln have already lifted spirits ahead of the results, which will provide an insight into easyJet’s journey out of loss-making territory.
“Expectations are flying high,” Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV) analyst Susannah Streeter commented, suggesting easyJet’s pre-tax losses should be “significantly” better than the £557mln penned in the first half of 2022.
THG (LON:THG), or The Hut, investors can only dream of a similar recovery.
The share price has risen almost 40% since the start of the year to just under 65p, which might sound good but is still down almost 90% from the 500p at which its £5.4bn initial public offer was priced in late 2020.
Newly formed activist investor Kelso Group announced in January that it has built up a stake and offered some helpful business advice but whether THG founder, major shareholder and boss Matthew Moulding is listening will be evident next week.
In the US, we have Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America and Netflix all reporting.
Entain (LON:ENT), on Wednesday, meanwhile might also have some explaining to do, notably why its share price is lagging so far behind rival Flutter.
The bookie owns Ladbrokes (LON:LCL) and Coral owner but these days they largely play the role of a sideshow to the US joint venture BetMGM, though as a recent £17mln fine illustrated, they can still spring a nasty surprise.
With a UK gambling white paper imminent expect a lot of emphasis on supporting those with addiction problems.
UK inflation figures delivered a shock rebound last month when most were expecting it to fall and the Bank of England, for one, will be hoping there is no repeat this time.
The consumer price index bounced to 10.4% in February from 10.1% in January, when the market had been looking for a fall to 9.9%.
Core CPI, which excludes fuel and food, was 6.2% from 5.8%, while the CPIH index, which includes owner-occupier housing costs, rose by 9.2% year-on-year, against 8.8% in the prior month.
US interest includes Tesla and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
Iron prices currently sit close to a three-month low, which is not good news for mining titan Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), which updates Thursday, though no one seems to have any clear idea of where trends are at present.
Dunelm (LON:DNLM) and WH Smith (LON:SMWH) should give insights into different parts of the consumer psyche, while US tobacco giant Philip Morris's comments on vaping and the US groundswell growing against the alternative to smoking will be worth watching.
Friday sees GfK consumer confidence data and ONS retail sales while there are also PMI flash numbers for the UK, US and other major economies.
Monday 17
Trading updates: Ashmore Group PLC (LON:ASHM), Sirius Real Estate Ltd (LON:SRET)
Finals: Diaceutics PLC (LON:DXRX), Schroder UK Public Private Trust (LON:SUPP), Surface Transforms PLC (LON:SCEU)
Tuesday 18
Trading updates: Integrafin Holdings PLC, Liontrust Asset Management, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) (US), Goldman Sachs (US), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) (US), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) (US), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) (US)
Finals: Billington Holdings Plc (LON:BILN), Property Franchise Group PLC (LON:TPFG), THG Holdings PLC (LON:THG), Xeros Technology Group PLC (LON:XSG))
AGMs: AIQ Ltd (LON:AIQ), Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN), Herald Investment Trust (LON:HRI), Porvair (LON:PORV), XP Power Ltd (LON:XPP)
Economic announcements: Claimant Count Rate (UK), Unemployment Rate (UK), Building Permits (US), Housing Starts (US)
Wednesday 19
Trading updates: Entain PLC, Hochschild Mining (LON:HOCM), Network International Holdings, Morgan Stanley (US), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) (US), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) (US)
Finals: Distribution Finance Capital Holdings PLC, M Winkworth Plc (AIM:WINK)
AGMs: British American Tobacco PLC (LON:BATS), Hunting PLC (LON:HTG), Primary Health Properties PLC (LON:PHP)
Economic announcements: Consumer Price Index (UK), Producer Price Index (UK), Retail Price Index (UK), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)
Thursday 20
Trading updates: Dunelm Group PLC , Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO), Rio Tinto PLC, Segro PLC, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) (US), AT&T Inc (US), Blackstone (NYSE:BX) (US), Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:NYSE:PM) (US), Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) (US)
Interims: WH Smith PLC, Centamin (LON:CEY)
Finals: Arecor (LON:AREC) Therapeutics PLC, Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC, Oxford Biomedica PLC
AGMs: Haleon PLC, Jarvis Securities, RELX PLC
Economic announcements: Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Philadelphia Fed Index (US), Existing Home Sales (US)
Ex-dividends to reduce FTSE 100 by: 3.93
Friday 21
Trading updates: Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) (US), SLB (US)
Finals: Angle Plc (LON:AGLE)
AGMs: Aukett Swanke Group PLC, Murray International Trust plc (LON:MYI)
Economic announcements: GFK Consumer Confidence (UK), Retail Sales (UK)