Friday preview: Euro area PMIs in focus

The spotlight at the end of the week will be on a preliminary reading on euro area factory and services sector conditions during the month of November.

Stateside meanwhile, IHS Markit is due to publish an equivalent report for the US manufacturing sector.

Investors will also be keeping an eye out for any reports regarding retail sales ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend, which some consider to be a good lead indicator for spending patterns over the all-important Christmas holidays.

IHS Markit's composite Purchasing Managers' Index is expected to reveal but a small dip from October's reading of 53.1 to 53.0, but investors are keen for further information on just how transitory or not the third quarter's 'soft patch' in economic growth will turn out to have been.

Back in the UK, the only economic report of any import due out is the Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey, also for November.

Fuller, Smith&Turner and Record are among the handful of companies set to update markets at the end of the week.

Numis analyst Tim Barrett is expecting the pub owner to post like-for-like sales growth of 3.5% for the first six months of the fiscal year as it continues to outperform the broader market by a wide margin.

However, the company's margins are seen shrinking by 40 basis points.

"Overall, we see forecast risk to the upside vs our current FY19 assumption of 2.5% managed lfls (each 1ppt on lfls has a c5% impact on EPS)," Barrett told clients.

For multi-platform media Future, Numis forecast that it would post full-year profits before tax of £15.6m on sales of £114m, with the dividend pegged at 0.5p per share and net debt expected to hit £20m.

Numis's Gareth Davies was quite upbeat on the company's prospects, saying: "Despite upgrading estimates at the time of the pre-close we see greatest risk to numbers as on the upside. Of particular interest in addition to current trading and outlook will be an update on recent acquisitions, in particular Purch.

"We remain very comfortable with our BUY on Future into results, retain a 600p blended multiples based target."

Friday November 23

INTERIMS

Fuller Smith & Turner, Record

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Aberdeen New Thai Inv Trust, Amati AIM Vct , Animalcare Group, Bovis Homes Group, CareTech Holding, Howden Joinery Group, Lookers, Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Inv Trust, Morgan Advanced Materials , Moss Bros Group, Next Fifteen Communications, Saga , Smart Metering Systems, Ted Baker, Tesco, Walker Greenbank

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Primary Health Properties, Tetragon Financial Group Limited

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Gross Domestic Product (GER) (07:00)

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Bovis Homes Group, Catalyst Media Group

AGMS

Base Resources Ltd , Crystal Amber Fund Ltd., Mc Mining Limited, Origin Enterprises, Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI), Sylvania Platinum Ltd (DI)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Foresight Solar & Infrastructure VCT, Go-Ahead Group, Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust, Ricardo, Springfield Properties