Tuesday preview: UK employment report, Hunting in focus

The focus on Tuesday will be on the latest UK employment report, which will help investors to better judge where the British ecoonomy was at heading into the general election in October.

Figures due from the Office for National Statistics at 0930 GMT are expected to reveal a one tenth of a percentage point rise in the unemployment rate, from 3.8% for September to 3.9% in October, alongside in the year-on-year rate of growth in headline weekly earnings from 3.6% to 3.4%.

They will be followed by the results of the Confederation of British Industry's manufacturing sector survey at 1100 GMT.

Later in the session, monthly US housing starts and industrial production data are due out at 1430 GMT and 1515 GMT, respectively.

Across the Channel meanwhile, data for new car registrations in the European Union covering the month of November are set for release at 0700 GMT, followed by figures on foreign trade in October at 1000 GMT.

The corporate spotlight on Tuesday will fall on oilfield services groups Hunting and Petrofac.

For the former, UBS's Amy Wong said that she would be looking for further colour as regards trading in its Titan unit, its largest in terms of its contribution to the outfit's total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, at about 25.0%.

Wong was also hoping for some commentary on the 2020 outlook.

In the case of Petrofac, which was set to publish a second half trading update, the same analyst was also looking for any comments around its 2020 guidance as well as for the ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

She had penciled in a 3% decline in Petrofac's 202 revenues on the back of the decline seen in its new order intake over recent years.

Tuesday 17 December

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Mediclinic International

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (EU) (10:00)

Building Permits (US) (13:30)

Capacity Utilisation (US) (14:15)

CBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00)

Housing Starts (US) (13:30)

Industrial Production (US) (14:15)

FINALS

Pressure Technologies

EGMS

Glenveagh Properties, Leaf Clean Energy Co (DI)

AGMS

Applied Graphene Materials , DotDigital Group, Sareum Holdings, Schroder Income Growth Fund, Tristel

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

CBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00)

Claimant Count Rate (09:30)

Unemployment Rate (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Asia Dragon Trust , Kin and Carta