Wednesday preview: Brexit talks and Asos results in focus

The focus on Wednesday will remain squarely on the headlines around the Brexit negotiations between Westminster and Brussels.

Against that backdrop, at 0930 BST the Office for National Statistics will publish consumer price data for September.

Consensus is calling for an increase in the year-on-year rate of harmonised consumer prices from 1.7% for August to 1.9% in September, with 'core' CPI seen picking up from 1.5% to 1.7% in parallel.

Following that, at 1330 BST, the US Department of Commerce is set to publish retail sales figures also covering the month of September.

And after the close of trading in London, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions across America.

In news related to the euro area, newly arrived European Central Bank chief economist, Philip Lane, will deliver a speech at the Brookings institution in Washington DC.

Further afield, rate-setters in South Korea are due to meet to decide on interest rates.

Online fashion retailer Asos will be in the spotlight on the corporate side of things as the firm unveils its full-year results.

And according to UBS's Olivia Townsend, if the BRC's latest UK retail sales are anything to go by, then the company's guidance for the 2020 financial year may point to soft UK sales and margins in the first quarter.

Townsend had already been 15% below the sell-side consensus for Asos's 2020 profits before those BRC figures due to her caution regarding Asos's profits in the US and Europe.

Indeed, the analyst was anticipating slower market growth to weigh on online retailers margins "over the next few years".

Nonetheless, investor sentiment towards the shares appeared to already be "very negative", she said, and medium-term guidance from management, while weaker than the consensus, had likely already been factored into buy-side expectations.

The analyst was expecting Asos to guide towards full-year earnings before interest and taxes of £53.7m, versus the Reuters consensus for about £62.0m.

Wednesday October 16

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited (DI)

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Assura

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (EU) (10:00)

Business Inventories (US) (15:00)

Consumer Price Index (EU) (10:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (13:00)

Retail Sales (US) (13:30)

FINALS

Applied Graphene Materials

DRILLING REPORT

Rio Tinto

AGMS

Duke Royalty Limited, Loungers

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tullow Oil

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (09:30)

Producer Price Index (09:30)

Retail Sales (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

ECO Animal Health Group, Gateley (Holdings) , Ince Group (The), National Westminster 9%pf