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(Sharecast News) - Wednesday will see the release of full-year results from pub group Fuller, Smith & Turner and water company Pennon, as well as a trading update from retailer WH Smith.
In the US, quarterly results from technology firm Oracle will be out.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said WH Smith is still reeling from a previous "annus horribilis" for the group, where an overstated profit forecast led to a sharp decline in the share price and with the CEO unfortunately falling on his sword as a result.
"The drop in investor confidence has left WH Smith with a mountain to climb. Unfortunately, its latest half-year numbers in April were accompanied by a profit warning and the suspension of dividend payments which led to a decline of more than 11% for the shares on the day," he said.
"Its outlook guidance for the full year stated that it expects to report pre-tax profit of between 90 million and 105 million, compared to its previous estimates in a range of 100 million to 115 million. It also reduced revenue growth forecasts to be between 3% to 5%, from the 4% to 6% stated in December. For the half-year, a decline in pre-tax profit to 3 million compared to 21 million in the corresponding period mean that even the revised guidance could be stretching."
On the macroeconomic front, the US consumer price index for May will be released. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the market is expecting headline prices to have jumped to 4.2% in May from 3.8% in April, while core price growth is expected to have risen a notch to 2.9% from 2.8%.
"Producer price growth could also exceed 6% for last month, which is unlikely to reassure the Fed that they can keep their loosening bias in place for the long term," she said. "The outlook for the Fed is complicated once more by President Trump, who heaped pressure on new chair Kevin Warsh to cut rates over the weekend.
"We will need to wait for next week's post-FOMC press conference from Warsh before we know if he is listening to the President, or setting policy based on the economic data. Any sign that Warsh is bowing to pressure from the White House could send Treasury yields into a spiral, as it would threaten the Fed's credibility.
"There is currently one hike priced in by the Fed for this year, with the hike expected to come in the fourth quarter. However, a hot inflation print could see the interest rate futures market recalibrate this to earlier in the year, as inflation pressure bites. In the unlikely scenario that US CPI is below expectations, we would expect a broad-based global asset price recovery."