Economy will set tone
ECONOMIC figures will dominate the agenda this week, although investors will also keep an eye on updates from the housebuilding and leisure sectors.
Only two months ago, Newcastle-based housebuilder Bellway was “cautiously optimistic” about its future prospects despite recent interest rate hikes. But as mortgage firms tighten their lending terms and the housing market cools following the summer turmoil in financial markets, analysts will be keen to gauge any change in tone in the final results tomorrow.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread is expected to update the market on a healthy cash return to shareholders tomorrow following the £925m sale of its David Lloyd Leisure chain earlier this year.
On Wednesday attention will turn to the minutes of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) first meeting since the Northern Rock banking crisis, when interest rates were held at 5.75%.
Other companies reporting this week include: Wednesday - Finals: Sportingbet, Thursday - Finals: Accuma, Smiths News.
