Friday preview: US consumer confidence, Rolls Royce in the spotlight

The focus at the end of the week will shift back to the US, where the University of Michigan will release its preliminary reading on consumer confidence in the country for the month of December.

In the background, investors will also be keeping tabs on the news-flow out of Capitol Hill regarding prospects for a deal on a new fiscal stimulus package.

They will also be digesting news that European Union heads of state clinched a deal at their two-day summit to unblock the seven-year €1.1trn budget and €750bn of Covid-19 aid.

Also due out are final prints for German and Spanish consumer prices in November as well as for Italian industrial production in October.

No major economic releases are scheduled in the UK.

For Rolls Royce's third quarter, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, expects investors' focus to be on the rate of cash burn, given the hit from Covid-19 to the global aerospace sector.

Nevertheless, "on a longer-term basis, the outlook is probably somewhat brighter."

Hewson also pointed out recently the importance for the company's longer-term prospects from its involvement in a consortium to build 16 miniature nuclear plants and from its work on a prototype jet engine which uses 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

Friday 11 December

INTERIMS

Polar Capital Technology Trust

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Airtel Africa , Central Asia Metals, Genel Energy, Morgan Advanced Materials , Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd., Octopus Titan VCT , Telecom Plus

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (GER) (07:00)

Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)

U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US) (15:00)

GMS

KEFI Gold and Copper , ReNeuron Group

FINALS

Nexus Infrastructure

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Softcat

AGMS

Bellway, Star Phoenix Group Ltd NPV (DI), Up Global Sourcing Holdings , Volution Group, Westmount Energy Ltd.

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bellway, Rolls-Royce Holdings

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Ashmore Group, Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, Ferguson, Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd Ptg NPV, Genus, James Halstead, Softcat