22.08.16 Monday Morning

This week looks set to be caught between the infuriating summer lull that has plagued August and a few pieces of honest to god important data (even if, annoyingly enough, they don’t come until Friday).

UK
In a sign of almost passive aggressive contempt for investors the UK throws up a staggeringly small amount of data this week. Tuesday sees the latest CBI industrial order expectations, while Thursday sees the CBI realised sales; that’s it. Friday does admittedly pick up with the 2nd estimate Q2 GDP figure, but given that doesn’t give investors any idea of the post-Brexit landscape even that is limited in its use. Considering this paucity of data-intrigue it will be interesting to see whether the FTSE continues to trickle away from the highs it hit last Monday, or whether it will find a level to settle at until August is over.

In terms of earnings you can tell we are in the dog days of summer. Monday sees Wireless Group reveal its half year update, while there are similar interim statements from Persimmon (see below), Hikma Pharmaceuticals and The Restaurant Group on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

US
Like the UK the US is hardly a hotbed of data. Existing home sales on Wednesday is all investors have to work with in the first half of the week, before things become a bit more busy on Thursday (durable goods orders, flash services PMI and the usual jobless claims) and Friday (the preliminary Q2 GDP reading, the good trade balance figure and the revised UoM consumer sentiment).

Earnings-wise things are pretty sparse, though there are a few recognisable names in among the dregs. Best Buy reveals its Q2 update on Tuesday, while HP and PVH (the latter owning the likes of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) report on Wednesday and Tiffany & Co release on Thursday.

Eurozone
It looks like it falls to the Eurozone to prevent investors from dozing off this week, the region easily having the most going on. Tuesday sees the French, German and Eurozone-wide flash manufacturing and services PMIs, as well as the region-wide consumer confidence figure, before Germany gives investors a final look at its second quarter GDP number. Thursday then sees the German Ifo business climate reading, before Friday caps off with the country’s Gfk consumer climate figure.

Stock of the week: Persimmon PLC – Half Year Trading Statement
Despite suffering the same fate as the rest of the housing sector after the UK’s EU referendum, with a 40% plunge across 2 session, 2016 still hasn’t been too unkind to Persimmon, the stock hitting an all-time high at the start of March.

While it saw a strong full year update in February and a slightly concerning Q1 report in April, Persimmon’s most important statement came at the start of July, with the company addressing the Brexit fears that had plagued its stock in the aftermath of the referendum. Persimmon argued that it was ‘too soon to judge’ the impact of the Brexit on the housing sector, instead choosing to highlight its 12% rise in completed house sales for the 6 months ending June 30th.

Though it is still barely 2 months since the referendum investors will be expecting a fuller comment on the Brexit when Persimmon this time around, especially since it has already been revealed that, for the sector as a whole, housing prices rose at their slowest rate for 3 years across July.

 

(Source: IT-Finance.com 19/08/2016)