Wednesday preview: Glaxo, MPC minutes, US CPI all due out

Glaxosmithklline will be among the most high-profile companies to release results on Wendesday as the pharmaceutical giant reports its third-quarter figures.

The drugmaker is expected to deliver sales of £5.74bn in the three months to 30 September, down from £6.51bn in the third quarter of 2013.

The consensus forecast is for core operating profit is £1.71bn, compared with £2.06bn a year earlier.

Glaxo said at the time of its half-year report in July that good progress made with its newly-launched products was being offset by pricing and contracting pressures in the US, with sale declines of its asthma and COPD treatment Advair in particular likely to continue.

"Double-digit volume declines [of Advair] are still the norm and pricing will likely get worse before it gets better," said analyst Savvas Neophytou from Panmure Gordon, who estimated that Advair contributes around 25% of group profits.

In Britain focus will be on the minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee's last rate setting meeting, That comes as over the last few weeks markets have pushed out the expected date of a first increase in Bank Rate to the third quarter of 2015.

Stateside all eyes will be on the latest consumer price figures, for the month of September. Barclays Research expects the headline US consumer price index to fall by 0.5 percentage points in the last quarter of the year in seasonally adjusted annualised terms, providing a net boost to the country's rate of GDP growth worth 0.4 percentage points.

Wednesday October 22

INTERIMS
Development Securities, Home Retail Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Price Index (US) (13:30)
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Q3
GlaxoSmithKline, Nord Gold NV GDR (Reg S), Norsk Hydro ASA, Orange Polska S.A. GDR (Reg S)

FINALS
Spirit Pub Company, Xeros Technology Group

ANNUAL REPORT
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc.

IMSS
British American Tobacco, Computacenter, International Personal Finance, Laird, Playtech, Senior

EGMS
Global Ports Investments GDR (REG S)

AGMS
FinnAust Mining, Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd., Kirkland Lake Gold Inc.

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Playtech, Plus500 Ltd (DI)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BoE Interest Rate Minutes (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Rank Group