Wednesday preview: US jobs data and Daily Mail in the spotlight

The focus on Thursday will be on a batch of high-frequency economic indicators due out on both sides of the Atlantic, with investors keen for any signals that a trough in activity is now past and to assess the speed of the still exceptionally fraught recovery.

Key in that regard will be the latest weekly US jobless claims figures, which economists at Barclays anticipated will show a further slowdown in the pace of job destruction in the world's largest economy, from the previous week's still terrifying 2.438m pace to 2.0m.

A reading on US pending home sales for April may also provide some clues as to how the housing sector in the States is holding up, even as a second reading on first quarter GDP and durable goods orders in April lay bare the hit to the economy from the pandemic.

No major economic releases are scheduled in the UK.

Across the Channel, survey data on business and consumer confidence in May are due out in Italy, Sweden and at the euro area level.

On the corporate front, the Daily Mail and General Trust is due to update markets on its first half performance.

Against a backdrop of wholesale job losses right across the print and digital media space in recent weeks, investors will focus for the fallout from the pandemic on its advertising revenues.

Over the five months to the end of February the company had already reported a 3% rise in underlying sales, but the company's boss, Paul Zwillenberg, had already warned that ad sales, especially on the print side of the business, would take a hit.

Nevertheless, at the time the publisher had £363m of gross cash on hand and a further £374m of committed undrawn facilities.

Thursday 28 May

INTERIMS

Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V), Jadestone Energy Inc NPV (DI)

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Aberdeen Frontier Markets Investment Company, Balfour Beatty Cum Cnv Red Prf , Cardiff Property, Cerillion , Grainger, Pacific Assets Trust, Stock Spirits Group , Town Centre Securities

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE

BlackRock World Mining Trust, Canadian General Investments Ltd., Diversified Gas & Oil, Tritax Eurobox (EUR), Tritax Eurobox (GBP)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Continuing Claims (US) (13:30)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (16:00)

GDP (Preliminary) (US) (13:30)

Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)

Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)

GMS

Civitas Social Housing

FINALS

Urban Exposure

AGMS

Bidstack Group , Bodycote, CPP Group, Crossword Cybersecurity, Ferrexpo, IDOX, Seplat Petroleum Development Company (DI), Strix Group , STV Group

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

IWG

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Croda International, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Relx plc, Sabre Insurance Group, Toyota Motor Corp.

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Advanced Medical Solutions Group, Andrews Sykes Group, DCC, Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust Red, Gamma Communications, Genel Energy, Great Portland Estates, Hilton Food Group, Huntsworth, Mincon Group , Ra International Group, Sigma Capital Group