Wednesday preview: EU summit, CPI in focus

With little doubt, all eyes on Wednesday will be on the European Union leaders' summit in Brussels.

In particular, investors will be scrutinising the headlines coming from the EU capital for any hint of a shift in the negotiating stance of the bloc's 27 future members.

Nevertheless, there is an increasingly large number of observers expecting the talks to go right down to the wire.

Stateside meanwhile, investors' attention is expected to be on the minutes of the US central bank's last policy meeting, at which rate-setters nudged their median forecast for interest rate hikes in 2019 from three to four.

Back in the UK, the focus will on September's report on consumer prices, with consensus forecasting a drop in the year-on-year rate of headline inflation from 2.7% to 2.6%.

Among the corporates set to update markets on recent trading conditions are Barratt Developments and Segro.

For the former, analysts at UBS expect the company will disclose "broadly flat" year-on-year sales for the six weeks from 2 September, which would be more or less 'in line' with the previous trend.

In what was expected to be a shorter-than-usual update, given that the company's Annual General Meeting was scheduled for one month earlier than last year, no "material" changes were expected in the company's guidance, including for an improvement in its margins, UBS said.

For property investment and development company Segro, UBS expected its "strong" leasing momentum to have continued on the back of the "structural" tailwinds from growing e-commerce demand.

Analyst Osmaan Malik was also looking for details regarding the company's plans for asset disposals and regarding its capital expenditures.

"An important question is whether the company can replenish its land bank given accelerating pace of developments so we look for any update on land acquisitions and expected yield on cost," Malik said.

Wednesday 17 October

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Elecosoft, Non-Standard Finance, Shore Capital Group Ltd., Somero Enterprises Inc. (DI)

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Assura

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (EU) (10:00)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

Housing Starts (US) (13:30)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

FINALS

ASOS, CAP-XX Limited, Softcat

DRILLING REPORT

Hochschild Mining

EGMS

Bank Audi S.A.L. GDR (Repr 1'Com'Shr Lbp1650)(Reg S), Greka Drilling Ltd (DI)

AGMS

Barratt Developments, BHP Billiton, Tlou Energy Limited (DI)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Barratt Developments, Rathbone Brothers, SEGRO

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (09:30)

Producer Price Index (09:30)

Retail Price Index (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

ECO Animal Health Group