Friday preview: Chinese manufacturing, TalkTalk in focus

(Sharecast News) - The market spotlight at the end of the week would fall on an official survey of manufacturing sector conditions in China at the start of the year.
This time around the potential for that report to trigger market moves was especially high, as investors were trying to gauge the fallout on the Chinese economy of the new coronavirus outbreak.

A raft of closely-watched economic activity indicators were also due out in the States.

Those included a report on personal income and spending in December, Market News International's regional Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index for January and a final reading on US consumer confidence, also for January.

On home turf meanwhile, consultancy GfK will publish its consumer confidence gauge for January, followed by mortgage approval statistics for December at 0930 GMT.

Across the Channel meanwhile, Eurostat will publish a reading on Eurozone consumer prices in January.



TalkTalk is among the corporates that are due to update financial markets at the end of the week.

Consensus was for third quarter revenues of £380-385.0m, for a 1.0-1.5% decline.

UBS analyst Polo Tang thought that the broadband provider's subscriber base was continuing to see modest declines, with average revenues per user also slipping - albeit nearing stabilisation - as the company migrated subscribers to its lower fixed price plans, helped in part by upselling fibre.

Investors would focus on the details of the fibre wholesale deal that accompanied the divestment to Cityfibre and its attractiveness - or not - for TalkTalk over the longer-term, he said.

In terms of guidance, consensus was anticipating a 10.0% rise in operating profits on an EBITDA basis for the 2020 financial year.

To take note of, Tang also highlighted the firm's high leverage, with net debt more triple its EBITDA following the sale of FibreNation, and its "highly" sensitive cashflows to ARPU growth and wholesale fibre costs.

Friday January 31

INTERIMS

Hargreaves Lansdown

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Aberdeen New Dawn Investment Trust, BMO Global Smaller Companies, Burberry Group, Experian, International Biotech Trust, Iomart Group

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited, BMO Private Equity Trust, Middlefield Canadian Income PCC, Value and Income Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Chicago PMI (US) (14:45)

GDP (Preliminary) (EU) (10:00)

Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)

Personal Income (US) (13:30)

Personal Spending (US) (13:30)

U. of Michigan Confidence (US) (15:00)

FINALS

Premier Veterinary Group

AGMS

Britvic, C4X Discovery Holdings , Henderson European Focus Trust, Infrastrata, Regency Mines, Shaftesbury

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

SSE

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)

GFK Consumer Confidence (00:01)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

AJ Bell, Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust , BP 8% Cum 1st Prf, BP 9% 2nd Prf, Character Group, DotDigital Group, Focusrite, Lowland Investment Co, Topps Tiles