Proactive Investors - Non-farm payrolls are the big event in the week with forecasts for the US to have added around 250,000 jobs in March.
There is also plenty of other US data coming to keep market watchers occupied, even if scheduled company news looks light.
UK-wise it’s quiet ahead of the expected Easter getaway, which has been greeted by the prospect of ten days of strike action at Heathrow.
The airport says it doesn’t expect any disruption but major user British Airways (LON:ICAG) has cancelled flights and the advice is to check beforehand.
Topps Tiles will give an insight into the mood of the housing refurb market ahead of what is traditionally the time DIYers burst into action again.
Minutes from the last meeting of the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee should also be fascinating, coming right after the onset of the banking crisis.
Ex-dividends on Thursday, meanwhile, from Barratt, Reckitt Benckiser, Smiths plus others will knock around 8 points off the FTSE 100 index at the opening bell.
Monday 3 April
Major announcements due
- Finals: Elixirr International Plc (LON:ELIX)
- Interims: Tracsis (AIM:TRCS) PLC
- AGMs: N4 Pharma PLC (AIM:N4P)
Economic announcements: PMI Manufacturing (US), Construction Spending (US), ISM Manufacturing (US), ISM Prices Paid (US), Auto Sales (US), PMI Manufacturing (UK)
Tuesday 4 April
Virtual queuing specialist Accesso Technology has flagged record revenues, alongside strong cash generation.
Revenue for the 2022 calendar year is anticipated to come in at no less than US$139mln – up from US$124.8mln the year earlier and ahead of management’s initial full-year expectations.
Group cash ended the year at roughly US$64mln, linked to a strong operating performance and a cash EBITDA margin of at least 17%.
Major announcements due
- Finals: Accesso Technology Group PLC, Proteome Sciences PLC, Saga PLC
- Trading updates: Anexo Group PLC, Renewi PLC
- Economic announcements: Factory Orders (US)
Wednesday 5 April
Enquest has already delayed the publication of its annual results once, due to what it says was the impact of the UK government’s energy profits levy.
Boss Amjad Bseisu has been one of the lead critics of the windfall tax and expect more complaints when the results do come out.
Whether the commentary is designed to deflect attention from what should have been a bumper 2022 remains to be seen.
In its last update, North Sea-focused Enquest said it was postponing new drilling on the Kraken field due to the impact of the EPL so what the cost actually is to the company will be something to note.
Topps Tiles, the London-listed tile specialists, will be posting first-half results on Wednesday with investors hoping the group can pick up from where it left off in January’s first-quarter update.
Then, Topps Tiles said sales were 10.2% higher than the same period a year earlier though it cautioned profits, as usual, would be second-half weighted.
Major announcements due
- Finals: Enquest PLC, Futura Medical PLC , Hilton Food Group PLC, Lookers PLC
- Trading updates: RS Group PLC, Topps Tiles PLC (LON:TPT)
- Economic announcements: MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Balance of Trade (US), PMI Composite (US), PMI Services (US), ISM Prices Paid (US), ISM Services (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US), FOMC Interest Rate Minutes (US), PMI Composite (UK), PMI Services (UK)
Thursday 6 April
Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO), an iron pellet-producing company operating in Ukraine, will offer insight into the effects of war on a business when it provides a first-quarter update on Thursday 6 April.
The mining company, which has around 9,500 workers based in Ukraine, saw both underlying profits and revenue sink by around 50% in its 2022 financial year.
Since Russia invaded the European country, shares in the iron ore producer have sunk by over 56%.
Earlier in March, analysts identified that accessing its seaborne markets via the Black Sea would be important to succeed going forward.
Investors may look out for any progress in this goal, either from agreements to allow exporting safely or a successful pushback on the Russian navy at the ports.
Robert Walters will provide some insights into international hiring trends when it delivers a first-quarter update on Thursday 6 April, with its small profit warning in January having rocked the sector's booming confidence.
With the first quarter update being less than a month from the final results, it's unlikely there will be any massive shifts, but there are some subtleties worth keeping an eye on.
Analysts at AJ Bell said this update "should be informative", with Walters, who is to be replaced Toby Fowlston after 38 years at the helm, "flagged fierce competition for candidates and wage growth to match in the first half of 2022", and "increased uncertainty in the second”.
The current City forecast consensus for the full year is for pre-tax income of £50mln, down from £55.6mln in 2021.
Major announcements due
- Trading updates: Ferrexpo PLC (LSE:FXPO), Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA)
- AGMs: Cloudcoco Group PLC, Scottish American Investment Co PLC
- Economic announcements: Continuing Claims (US), Initial Jobless Claims (US), Halifax House Price Index (UK), PMI Construction (UK)
- Ex-dividend: Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV), Reckitt Benckiser Group, F&C Investment Trust, ConvaTec (LON:CTEC) Group, Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO), Smiths Group (LSE:LON:SMIN)
Good Friday
- UK market closed
- Economic announcements: Non-Farm Payrolls (US), Unemployment Rate (US), Consumer Credit (US)
- US company updates
- Wednesday: Conagra Brands
- Thursday: Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI), Ermenegildo Zegna