Wednesday preview: UK CPI, Tesco in the spotlight

Inflation will continue to be in the spotlight on Wednesday, but this time chiefly in the UK.

At 0700 GMT, the Office for National Statistics will release its reading on consumer prices in March and consensus is that they picked up from an annual rate 6.2% during the previous month to 6.7%.

Economists at Barclays Research are expecting the data to reveal not just the jump in pump prices, but also that firms were continuing to pass on higher costs to consumers, as per the latest Bank of England survey data.

They also note how the 54% hike in energy prices planned for April was set to catapult headline CPI to 8.5%.

Price pressures are also set to be under the microscope Stateside, where the Department of Labor will release producer price data for March.

On home shores, the spotlight in the company arena will be on Tesco.

UBS analyst Sreedhar Mahamkali has penciled-in a 7% rise in full-year sales to £62.03bn, for a 56% surge in earnings before interest and taxes to £2.83bn and of 38% at the earnings per share level to 0.22p.

Mahamkali was also expecting the grocer to post £2.65bn of EBIT for Group Retail and retail free cash flow of £2.1bn.

He was also anticipating that management would provide a view on the company's annual capacity for regular buybacks and to potentially move to £750m for the year ahead.

On the other side of the Pond meanwhile, banking giant JP Morgan will update markets on its first quarter performance and may help set the tone for the rest of its sector this earnings season.

Wednesday 13 April

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Mid Wynd International Inv Trust

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Assura

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Producer Price Index (US) (13:30)

FINALS

Petropavlovsk, Tesco

EGMS

Edita Food Industries S.A.E. GDR (REGS)

AGMS

AssetCo, Smith & Nephew

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Novolipetsk Steel GDS (Reg S), Pagegroup, PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works GDR (Reg S)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (07:00)

Producer Price Index (07:00)

Retail Price Index (07:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Athelney Trust