Final results from Greene King and DS Smith will be out on Thursday morning and a ton of economic indicators are also due for release at home and abroad, however the focus for the markets will likely be on the crucial two-day EU summit which kicks off tomorrow.
At the summit in Brussels, European leaders are expected to discuss specific steps towards a cross-border banking union, closer fiscal integration and the possibility of a debt redemption fund, however expectations of any firm solutions or decisions are very low.
"With expectations so low for a change, we may just see a surprise in the markets. There has been little movement in equities in particular in the first half of the week, so I expect to see a big reaction one way or another," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
On the corporate front, pubs group Greene King will report its figures for the 12 months ended April 30th 2012. Consensus estimates are for revenues of £1,122m (2011: £1,042m) and pre-tax profits of £148m (2011: £116.8m).
"The group's bias towards community pubs limits its exposure to record petrol prices, and it should benefit from the Olympics in its c250 London pubs," said analysts at Panmure Gordon on Monday.
Recycled packaging group DS Smith will represent its results for the same period, with revenues expected to jump from £2,475 to £3,827m, according to consensus forecasts. Pre-tax profits are estimate to climb from £102m to £188m.
The group announced last week that it had cleared all the hurdles needed to complete its reverse takeover of Swedish giant SCA Packaging. SCA is by some measures Europe's second largest packaging company and the deal is expected to cost FTSE 250 player DS Smith a cool €1.7bn.
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Town Centre Securities
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45)
Business Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)
Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)
Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)
GDP (Final) (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
PMI Retail (EU) (09:00)
PMI Retail (GER) (08:55)
Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)
FINALS
Greene King, ReNeuron Group, Smith (DS)
ANNUAL REPORT
Castings, Maple Energy
AGMS
Amati VCT , Black Sea Property Fund Ltd (The), Cosalt, Crimson Tide, DCD Media, Dods (Group) , EIH Plc, Elektron Technology, Eurasia Mining, Evolve Capital, Harvey Nash Group, JSC Acron GDR (Reg S), JSC Sitronics GDR (Reg S), Ludorum, Maple Energy, National Bank of Greece ADR, OAO Severstal GDR (Reg S), Red Leopard Holdings, Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust, Serica Energy, Solgold, Stobart Group Ltd., Tullow Oil, Watermark Global, Xenetic Biosciences, Xtract Energy
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Payments (Payment Balance) (09:30)
Current Account (09:30)
GDP (quarterly national accounts) (09:30)
Index of Services (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
British American Inv Trust
BC
-
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to shut another 45 branchesLloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, is set to close a further 45 branches in 2024 - find out if a branch near you is closing.
-
US stock trading app Robinhood launches in the UK
The low-cost trading platform has opened another waiting list for British investors - following two failed attempts to launch in this country - and is hoping to be fully operational next year.
