Week ahead: US FOMC, jobs report, French elections in focus

The coming week is replete with top-tier economic data and potential risk events.

Chief among the former will be the US central bank's policy decision and follow-up statement on 3 May, although with no press conference scheduled few changes are likely.

Nonetheless, the policy statement issued after the Federal Open Market Committee meets always bears watching in case it yields any clues as to rate-setters' thinking on what their next move should be, specifically at their subsequent meeting, in June.

Next in importance, will be Friday's US non-farm payrolls report for the month of April, with economists currently expecting a reading of 200,000.

Acting as a backdrop, Frenchmen will head to the polls on 7 May to decide who will be their next president.

According to the latest daily poll from Opinionway, centrist Emmanuele Macron is still seen coming away with roughly 60% of the ballots, versus 40% for his rival Marine Le Pen.

As well, on 30 April members of Italy's Democratic Party are expected to again choose Matteo Renzi as their party secretary. However, economists at Barclays do not expect that to have any bearing on the likely date of the next elections in the country, which they believe will take place in the first half of 2018.

"We stick to our baseline that a last-minute agreement [on voting reform] between political forces will be found only later in H2 this year and possibly after enhanced moral suasion, which is likely to be exerted by President Mattarella, in our view. Consistent with this, we continue to expect general elections to be held in Q1/beginning of Q2 next year under an improved voting system, which should reduce, albeit not remove completely, the risk of a hung Parliament after the next elections," economists at Barclays Research said on 27 April.

In the UK, the main data releases will come on Tuesday and Thursday, with the release of manufacturing and service sector purchasing managers' indices for April, courtesy of IHS Markit.

On the other side of the globe, in China, on Tuesday, Caixin will publish its manufacturing sector PMI for Asia's largest economy.

Interest rate decisions from policymakers at the Reserve Bank of Australia and Norway's central bank are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

Monday 01 May

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00)
Personal Income (US) (13:30)
Personal Spending (US) (13:30)

GMS
Asiamet Resources Limited (DI)

AGMS
Asiamet Resources Limited (DI)

Tuesday 02 May

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Manchester & London Investment Trust, NWF Group, Smith (DS)

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Mercantile Investment Trust (The)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Import Price Index (GER) (07:00)
Unemployment Rate (US) (08:55)

FINALS
Action Hotels

AGMS
Bovis Homes Group, Howden Joinery Group, Lighthouse Group, Randgold Resources Ltd., RPS Group

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Just Eat

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
PMI Construction (00:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Essentra, Foreign and Colonial Inv Trust, LSL Property Services

Q1
BP, Shire Plc

Wednesday 03 May

INTERIMS
Focusrite, Imperial Brands , Sage Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
ISM Non-Manufacturing (US) (15:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
Producer Price Index (EU) (09:00)

FINALS
Inspiration Healthcare Group , Osirium Technologies

ANNUAL REPORT
Cambridge Cognition Holdings

IMSS
Paddy Power Betfair

AGMS
BlackRock Latin American Inv Trust, Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Empresaria Group, Frenkel Topping Group, Hongkong Land Holding Ltd. (Sing.Reg), International Personal Finance, Intu Properties, Lancashire Holdings Limited, Mandarin Oriental International (Singapore), Ocado Group, Secure Trust Bank, Spirent Communications, Standard Chartered, The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited, Virgin Money Holdings (UK)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Direct Line Insurance Group, Intu Properties, Paddy Power Betfair

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
EMIS Group, Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company

Q1
Centamin (DI), Indivior, Livanova

Thursday 04 May

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Volution Group (WI)

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
AB Dynamics, BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust, British Smaller Companies VCT, James Halstead, Pembroke Vct, Pembroke Vct B, Smart (J) & Co., Swallowfield, Symphony International Holdings Ltd.

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
JPMorgan Claverhouse Inv Trust, SQN Asset Finance Income Fund Limited, The SME Loan Fund, Toro Limited , Unilever

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
Retail Sales (EU) (09:30)

GMS
Johnson Service Group

SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Derwent London, EP Global Opportunities Trust, Henderson Group, Volga Gas

AGMS
Computacenter, Elecosoft, GKN, GlaxoSmithKline, Gresham Technologies, IMI, Inmarsat, Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (Singapore Reg), Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Johnson Service Group, Ladbrokes Coral Group, Moneysupermarket.com Group, Morgan Sindall Group, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited (DI), St James's Place, Stadium Group, Trinity Mirror

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets, Purplebricks Group, RSA Insurance Group

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Credit (09:30)
M4 Money Supply (09:30)
Mortgage Approvals (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
AFH Financial Group , Amiad Water Systems Ltd, British American Tobacco, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, Miton Group, Schroders, Schroders (Non-Voting), SEGRO, Ultra Electronics Holdings

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Acacia Mining, Card Factory, Cello Group, Coats Group, Croda International, Derwent London, Dunedin Income Growth Inv Trust, Ebiquity, Empresaria Group, EP Global Opportunities Trust, F&C Private Equity Trust, Ferrexpo, H&T Group, Harworth Group, Hastings Group Holdings , Henderson Group, Highcroft Investment, Holders Technology, InterContinental Hotels Group, JRP Group, Kingfisher, London Stock Exchange Group, Lookers, Luceco , Maven Income & Growth VCT, McColl's Retail Group , Microgen, Morgan Advanced Materials , Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) , Norsk Hydro ASA, Playtech, Polymetal International, Rightmove, SafeCharge International Group Limited (DI), Servelec Group , SimiGon Ltd. (DI), SThree, Stock Spirits Group , Total Produce, Volga Gas

Q1
Inmarsat, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', Royal Dutch Shell 'B'

Friday 05 May

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Begbies Traynor Group, Redrow, St Ives

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
British Land Company, F & C UK High Income Trust

FINALS
QinetiQ Group

IMSS
InterContinental Hotels Group

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Electra Private Equity, F & C UK High Income Trust , Quartix Holdings

AGMS
AssetCo, BBA Aviation, Capital & Counties Properties , Clarke (T.), FBD Holdings, Fitbug Holdings, InterContinental Hotels Group, Kingspan Group, Man Group, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Morgan Advanced Materials , Pearson, RSA Insurance Group, Smurfit Kappa Group

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
InterContinental Hotels Group, Smith & Nephew

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Berendsen, CRH, Kingspan Group, Lighthouse Group, Meggitt, Mithras Inv Trust, Nichols, Quartix Holdings , Spirent Communications, Synectics, Telit Communications

Q1
Smurfit Kappa Group