Thursday preview: US Producer prices, Rolls Royce in focus

Investors' focus on the US will continue to be trained on the US, where factory gate price data for April are due out.

Forecasts are for final demand prices to accelerate from a year-on-year rate of 4.2% in April to 5.8% for May.

Also due out in the States, and likely to garner a lot of attention given the 'miss' in the April non-farm payrolls report, are the Department of Labor's latest initial weekly jobless claims figures.

On home shores, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors is scheduled to publish its house price balance for April.

Further afield, rate-setters in the Philippines are due to meet to decide on policy.

In corporate news, Rolls Royce is scheduled to update investors on first quarter trading, with optimism tempered by the "uncertainty about when air travel is likely to return to any kind of normal post pandemic," says Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Indeed, despite thousands of job cuts and cost savings, the engineer remained "hugely reliant" for a good proportion of its revenues on its aviation air miles.

At the end of 2020, the company guided towards a free cash outflow of £2bn for 2021, based on the assumption that wide-body engine flying hours would be at 55% of their 2019 levels.

Critically, it also expected to turn cash flow positive in the back half of 2021.

Nonetheless, for Hewson that forecast "still seems somewhat optimistic, and the share price performance since that guidance was issued in March appears to bear that out for now."

Hewson also noted how the sale of its Bergen engines unit was being held up by Norwegian authorities on national security grounds, while negotiations to sell its Spanish unit, ITP Aero, were being hindered by concerns about possible job losses.

Thursday 13 May

INTERIMS

Brewin Dolphin Holdings, Grainger, Ten Lifestyle Group

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Coral Products, Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust, Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust, Fidelity Special Values, Focusrite

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Custodian Reit , Ediston Property Investment Company, FRP Advisory Group , Greencoat Renewables (CDI), Honeywell International Inc., Picton Property Income Ltd, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B', The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)

Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)

FINALS

Burberry Group, e-Therapeutics

AGMS

Access Intelligence, Balfour Beatty, Conduit Holdings Limited Com Shs (DI), Direct Line Insurance Group, Elementis, Empresaria Group, Eurocell , Hiscox Limited (DI), IGas Energy, Kenmare Resources (CDI), Luceco , Merchants Trust, Moneysupermarket.com Group, Ocado Group, One Media IP Group, Prudential, Quilter, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Serinus Energy NPV, SIG, Spire Healthcare Group, The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV, TI Fluid Systems, Unite Group, Valeura Energy Inc NPV (DI)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beazley, Conduit Holdings Limited Com Shs (DI), Contour Global , Hargreaves Lansdown

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Convatec Group , F&C Investment Trust, Hammerson, Mondi

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Avast, Cenkos Securities, Centaur Media, Clarkson, Elecosoft Public Limited Company, Empresaria Group, Epwin Group, FDM Group (Holdings), Franchise Brands, Gamesys Group, Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI), Genel Energy, H&T Group, Holders Technology, Inchcape, Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Companies Inv Trust, IP Group, Macfarlane Group, Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd., Pacific Assets Trust, Phoenix Spree Deutschland Limited Shs NPV , Reach, Serco Group, Spectris, Tandem Group, Vector Capital

Q1

Vaalco Energy, Inc (DI), Valeura Energy Inc NPV (DI)