Friday preview: US non-farm payrolls in the spotlight

The focus in financial markets at the end of the week will be on the US jobs market, as the Department of Labor publishes non-farm payrolls data for June.

Consensus is for an increase of 585,000 following May's rise of 492,000, alongside a 0.4% month-on-month rate of increase in average hourly earnings.

However, as recently as 30 June, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, reiterated his call for an approximately 1.0m increase in non-farm payrolls.

Also due out are readings on US durable goods orders and foreign trade in May.

Across the Channel, European Central Bank president, Christine Lagarde, is scheduled to speak at the Les Recontres Economiques d'Aix-en-Provence 2021 conference, at 1330 BST.

No major economic reports are scheduled for release in the UK.

Friday 02 July

INTERIMS

Reach

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

AJ Bell, AVI Global Trust , Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V), Gabelli Value Plus Trust , Grainger, Panther Securities, Shaftesbury

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Merchants Trust 3.65% Cumulative Preference 1

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Blackrock North American Income Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Factory Orders (US) (15:00)

Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)

Producer Price Index (GER) (10:00)

Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)

Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Midwich Group

AGMS

Mining, Minerals & Metals

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Animalcare Group, Aurora Investment Trust, Computacenter, Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd Com Shs (DI), Hilton Food Group, JTC, Tesco