Wednesday preview: PMIs, Nvidia Q2 results in focus

With little in the way of corporate news due on Wednesday amid the summer lull, investors will be turning their attention to UK, eurozone and US PMIs.

Deutsche Bank said in a note: "The US will be a particular focus as growth data continues to surprise on the upside. Developments in Europe, where Germany's manufacturing gauge is below 40, and whether the roll-off in services' strength continues will also be closely watched."

As for the UK PMIs for August, CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "While economic activity has been slowing in Europe, the UK has also seen similar slowdowns in both manufacturing and services, although the composite PMI is just about hanging on in expansion territory, unlike its peers across the Channel.

"Construction has been a notable strong point, however the focus this week remains on manufacturing which slowed to 45.3 in July, while services slowed from 53.7 in June to 51.5 in July. The recent GDP numbers for June showed a strong performance, however Q3 is likely to be much more challenging, with higher oil and gas prices likely to filter through at the petrol pump."

Market participants will also be watching for the release of US new home sales figures for July at 1500 BST. Deutsche Bank is expecting to see a jump to 702,000 from 697,000 in June.

There are no notable UK company earnings due, but across the pond, chip designer Nvidia is slated to report second-quarter numbers.

Hewson said: "On data centre chips during Q1, the company generated $4.28bn, followed by gaming which generated $2.24bn. For Q2, data centre revenue is expected to come in at $7.78bn, providing most of the uplift, with gaming expected to see $2.4bn.

"Profits are expected to come in at $2.07c a share. In the aftermath of its Q1 numbers, Nvidia CEO Jenson Huang laid out a statement of intent by announcing a raft of new AI related products which could help shape how companies’ network and advertise."

Wednesday August 23

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Porvair

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

New Homes Sales (US) (15:00)

GMS

Momentum Multi-Asset Value Trust, Sovereign Metals Limited NPV (DI)

EGMS

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.Kz GDR (Reg S) , Societatea Energetica Electrica SA GDR (Reg S)

AGMS

BrandShield Systems, Gail (India) Ltd GDR (Reg S), Latham (James)

Q1

Gail (India) Ltd GDR (Reg S)