Wednesday preview: Global manufacturing, Sainsbury in the spotlight

The market spotlight on Wednesday will be on global manufacturing, with sector surveys due out in all the major jurisdictions.

In particular, investors want to see if the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers Index for the US confirms the recovery seen in some of the regional surveys.

A private sector-compiler PMI due out in China will also be looked to for confirmation of the better-than-expected reading seen in the 'official' gauge just the day before.

The Bank of Japan's Tankan business confidence surveys on the other hand are expected to reveal a slump during the second quarter.

Also due out in the States is consultancy ADP's private sector payrolls report for June, but even a strong reading may be written off by markets as the results tend to be skewed by the official number reported for the previous month.

Across the Channel, monthly retail sales and unemployment figures are due out in Germany.

On the corporate side of things, grocer Sainsbury's is due to update markets on first quarter trading.

Sales spiked by a further 11% year-on-year in May even after bumper demand in March and April.

Yet unlike peer Tesco, at the end of April the company postponed a decision on its final dividend payment for 2019 until the end of the current financial year.

Faced with higher costs as well as the expense of safeguarding measures for staff, management at Sainsbury's showed greater caution than Tesco's.

Its bank may also act as a drag on profits given the tough outlook for the economy, although its Argos unit means that online sales should prove more resilient, said David Madden at CMC Markets UK.

Madden concluded: "It's clear that Sainsbury's new CEO, Simon Roberts, will need to do a lot better than his predecessor if he wants to close the gap with Tesco in the years ahead."

Wednesday 01 July

INTERIMS

React Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Balfour Beatty Cum Cnv Red Prf , General Accident 'A'

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Total SA

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Auto Sales (US) (20:30)

ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)

PMI Manufacturing (EU) (09:00)

PMI Manufacturing (US) (14:45)

Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)

Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)

GMS

Feedback

FINALS

Enteq Upstream, HML Holdings

EGMS

Joint Stock Company National Atomic Company Kazatomprom GDR (Reg S)

AGMS

Arricano Real Estate (DI), Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust Red, Third Point Offshore Investors Limited, TR Property Inv Trust

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sainsbury (J)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)

PMI Manufacturing (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Fuller Smith and Turner 8% 2nd Cumulative Preference 1, Renold 6% Cum. Prfd., Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust