(ShareCast News) - The European Central Bank is widely expected to announce an extension of its asset purchases programme on Thursday when it reveals its latest policy decision.Analysts see the ECB extending its quantitative easing programme by six months amid political uncertainty and continued inflationary pressures. All key rates are expected to be left unchanged.The meeting comes in the wake of Italy's constitutional referendum and the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, amid the country's banking crisis. Last Sunday Italians voted against Renzi's proposal to reduce the powers of the Senate."Recent events across Europe have placed the euro on a chaotic roller coaster ride with the terrible combination of political instability in Italy and overall uncertainty keeping investors on edge," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga."Market participants may use Thursday's ECB meeting to attain further clarity over the health of the European economy and strategies needed to mitigate the risks from Italy's referendum."Ahead of the ECB's meeting, the euro rose 0.08% against the dollar at $1.0727.In corporate earnings, Sports Direct is due to report its interims on Thursday.Investors will be looking for further clarity following a September trading update which showed the sports retailer expected underlying fiscal year 2017 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) around £300m, materially below consensus.Trading has been hit by the impact of Sterling depreciation and some underperformance in the UK and internationally.In September the group also confessed that there had been "failings" in its treatment of warehouse staff at its annual general meeting. The company announced that it planned to accelerate its initiatives to boost its store portfolio through freehold site acquisitions and relocations. Sports Direct spent £250m on property acquisitions in the five months from April."Since then, things have been relatively quiet for Sports Direct, with CEO Dave Forsey resigning, questions about (literally) related-party transactions, an increasingly significant share buy-back programme continuing, and a disastrous foray into hedging result in another double-digit downgrade to 2017 earnings," said Numis analyst Andrew Wade."Wary of the extent to which Sports Direct is being required to change commercially as the major brands demand a better showcase, and notwithstanding some potential gross margin upside in 2018 for the business as the brands re-price ranges following recent Sterling weakness, we see limited scope for a material profit recovery in the next few years and retain our neutral stance."Thursday 08 December INTERIMS Polar Capital Holdings INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE London Security, Rotala INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE 3i Group, Aquila Services Group, Babcock International Group, Big Yellow Group, Clipper Logistics , Cranswick, D4T4 Solutions, De La Rue, Hogg Robinson Group, Homeserve, ICAP, IG Design Group, Investec, Kainos Group , Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust, Next, Palace Capital , Phaunos Timber Fund Ltd., Royal Mail, Telford Homes, VP, Wincanton QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd., Raven Russia Ltd 6.5% Red Cnv Pref Shs NPV INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Continuing Claims (US) (13:30) ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45) Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30) GMS Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S) FINALS Alternative Networks, CareTech Holding, Private & Commercial Finance Group, Servoca, TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE Netcall, Trans-Siberian Gold EGMS Dolphin Capital Investors Ltd, Societatea Nationala De Gaze Naturale Romgaz S.A. GDR (Reg S) AGMS AB Dynamics, Aberdeen Latin American Income Fund Ltd , Billing Services Group Ltd., Green Reit, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.(DI), MJ Gleeson , Plexus Holdings, Softcat FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Craneware FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE Aberdeen Asset Management, Aeci 5 1/2% Prf, Britvic, Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V), Debenhams, DFS Furniture, K3 Business Technology Group, Netcall, Northamber, Pan African Resources, Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust, Waterman Group
