Thursday preview: EU summit, Schroders in the spotlight

Investors' focus on Thursday will be on the European Union summit being held in Brussels and on a barrage of high-frequency indicators that was set for release in the States.

At the former, EU leaders were set to discuss both the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the bloc's relations with the United Kingdom.

Over in the States meanwhile, readings were due out on weekly unemployment claims and for manufacturing sector conditions in the New York are as well as for the mid-Atlantic region more generally.

But first, overnight, investors would be digesting consumer and factory gate price data out of the People's Republic of China.

No major economic releases were scheduled in the UK.

Assets under management at fund manager Schroders are expected to clock in at £530bn in the third quarter, for growth of 1% versus the prior three-month stretch but of 18% against the year earlier period, UBS analyst Michael Werner writes.

Nevertheless, the lion's share of the annual rate of growth was the result of the consolidation of the Lloyds mandate in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first of 2020.

On an organic basis meanwhile, Schroders AuM were seen up 2%.

Although Schroder no longer published a quarterly breakdown of the contribution to AuM from flows and market performance, Werner estimated those at £5.2bn and -£1.2bn, respectively.

Flows into its Solutions channel were expected to have been especially strong at £3.5bn.

Thursday 15 October

INTERIMS

Allied Minds

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Convatec Group , Gamesys Group

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Air Partner, Harworth Group, Jadestone Energy Inc NPV (DI), Kerry Group 'A' Shares, M. P. Evans Group, Octopus AIM VCT 2, Robert Walters, Tclarke , Tesco, Xpediator

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE

JPMorgan Japan Smaller Companies Trust, Marble Point Loan Financing Limited NPV

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (16:00)

Import and Export Price Indices (US) (13:30)

Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

Philadelphia Fed Index (US) (13:30)

Q3

Centamin (DI)

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Somero Enterprises Inc. (DI)

SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Perpetual Income & Growth Inv Trust, Seneca Growth Capital Vct

AGMS

BHP Group, Malvern International, Mercantile Ports & Logistics Limited, Sosandar, SRT Marine Systems

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Discoverie Group, Hays, Mediclinic International , Mondi

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Close Brothers Group, Manchester & London Investment Trust, Strategic Equity Capital