Wednesday preview: ADP jobs report, Tesco in focus

Investors will be focused on a raft of economic indicators due out in the U.S..

Among those will be consultancy ADP's private sector payrolls report for September, coming as it does just a couple of days before the official non-farm payrolls figures which it aims to track - but often fails to accurately do so.

Far more reliable and therefore important will be the Institute for Supply Management's services sector Purchasing Managers' Index covering that same month.

In Asia Pacific meanwhile, rate-setters in New Zealand will meet overnight to decide on interest rates.

Speeches by Federal Reserve governor Michele Bowman and regional president Austan Goolsbee, at 1525 BST and 1535 BST, respectively, may also draw attention.

At 0900 BST, S&P Global will release the final reading for its September euro area services PMI.

It will be followed a half hour later by a similar survey for the UK.

On the corporate side of things, Tesco's first half results will be in the spotlight.

At the time of its first quarter earnings report, the grocer was optimistic that its full-year adjusted operating profits would be in line with the year before.

Management also expected retail free cash flow to remain between £1.4-1.8bn.

First half revenues were in any case expected to come in at £25.4bn.

Nonetheless, the entire sector had been under pressure from rising costs, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK noted, as well as coming under criticism from some politicians keen to deflect blame for their own failings.

Wednesday 04 October

INTERIMS

Tesco

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Holders Technology, Just Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

Factory Orders (US) (15:00)

ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

PMI Composite (EU) (09:00)

PMI Composite (GER) (08:55)

PMI Composite (US) (14:45)

PMI Services (EU) (09:00)

PMI Services (GER) (08:55)

PMI Services (US) (14:45)

Producer Price Index (EU) (10:00)

Retail Price Index (EU) (10:00)

AGMS

Alien Metals Limited NPV (DI), Kelso Group Holdings, TheWorks.Co.Uk

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

PMI Composite (09:30)

PMI Services (09:30)