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Wednesday preview: Commons vote, Berkeley Group in focus
Brexit is looming large on investors' radar again ahead of Wednesday's Commons vote on Parliament's right to a 'meaningful vote' on a no-deal Brexit.
Nevertheless, and as has been the case in recent sessions, global trade tensions were likely to continue to be in the spotlight too, with investors monitoring events for any sign of Beijing's response to the latest moves from Washington on the trade front.
'Market-chatter' around OPEC's ministerial meeting in Vienna was also very likely to ramp-up.
In terms of data, the Confederation of British Industry's June Industrial Trends survey may also attract some attention ahead of the MPC decision the next day.
Across the Channel, barring surprises, the focus will be on a speech by US central bank president Jerome Powell from Sintra, Portugal, where he is attending the European Central Bank's 2018 Forum.
Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, believed the Tory rebels will come out on top, albeit only just.
Yet he expected the reaction in Sterling to be muted.
In fact, it was the vote on the government's proposals for a customs union, likely to be taken in September, which would really matter, he said.
And to make a long story short, according to Tombs, "although many scenarios are possible, we still think the most likely outcome is that the U.K. will agree to stay in the customs union but to leave the single market after the transition period, but then ultimately will change its mind on leaving the single market too."
Further afield, interest rate decisions were expected from central banks in the Philippines and Thailand.
Berkeley Group Holdings is among the few outfit that are set to release financials on Wednesday, with analysts at UBS penciling-in full-year fiscal 2018 pre-tax profits of £935m on £2,788m of sales.
The company was seen sticking to previously-issued guidance on PBT for 2019 and 2020 of about £600m and £500m, respectively, with net cash seen at £740m at year-end FY2018.
That, the Swiss broker said, would provide Berkeley with the flexibility to "invest opportunistically or return more cash to shareholders in due course."
Investors would also be keeping an eye out for Legal&General's Capital Markets Day, which was expected to focus on its asset management division (LGIM).
Ahead of the CMD, UBS highlighted the strategic importance of that unit to the company's growth prospects.
However, its analysts had identified "challenges" to its earnings and cash growth in the form of structural net outflows and falling fee margins at its LGIM's largest business, focused on corporate pensions.
Hence, UBS said, from here on out acquisitions would be needed in order to meet expectations.
Wednesday June 20
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
DFS Furniture, Tharisa (DI)
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Current Account (US) (13:30)
Existing Home Sales (US) (15:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
Producer Price Index (GER) (07:00)
GMS
BlackRock Emerging Europe
FINALS
Berkeley Group Holdings (The), Best of the Best, F&C Global Smaller Companies, Severfield
AGMS
Andrews Sykes Group, BlackRock Emerging Europe, Cadogan Petroleum, Deltex Medical Group, Elektron Technology, Inspired Energy, London Security, Northern Electricity Prf, Primorus Investments, Tax Systems, UK Commercial Property Trust
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
CBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00)
FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Tongaat-Hulett Ltd.