House builders have done very well out of the low interest rate environment, and Bovis and Persimmon are to demonstrate how well this week.
Deutsche Bank thinks that after earnings upgrade for Persimmon in July, the sector leader may struggle to make an impact with its interims on Tuesday.
Having digested a detailed pre-close statement last month, analysts' focus will be on recent trading and projected volumes for the second half of the year and beyond.
"Within these results the market will look for further updates on trading, and will look to explore why house price inflation at Persimmon appears to lag the peers. Within its pre-close statement Persimmon reported that it had purchased approx 2x its replacement level of land in H1 14, with approx 75% of this done through the open market. Within this update the market will look for an update on future land buying including the pull through of land from its strategic pipeline," Deutsche said.
Mining giant BHP Billiton announced plans to hive off unwanted parts of its business into a separate company last week, so Tuesday's results may not seems so exciting after that bombshell.
"As commodity prices in general have held up over the same time period, with some even seeing small increases, we expect a moderate uplift in BHP’s financial numbers. Asset write-downs still remain a possibility and management are likely to remain cautious on large scale investment projects," opines Sheridan Admans, investment research manager at The Share Centre.
Significant announcements expected
Monday
Companies: Interims: Amlin (LON:AML), Bovis Homes Group (LON:BVS), Clarkson (LON:CKN).
Economic: UK: Rightmove. EU: Trade Balance. US: NAHB Housing Market Index.
Tuesday
Companies: Finals: BHP Billiton (LON:BLT). Interims: Cairn Energy (LON:CNE), CRH (LON:CRH), Mears Group (LON:MER), Menzies (John) (LON:MNZS), Persimmon (LON:PSN), TT Electronics (LON:TTG), John Wood Group (LON:WG.). Trading Statement: Imperial Tobacco Group (LON:IMT).
Economic: UK: PPI Input, CPI, RPI, Core CPI, HPI, PPI Output. EU: Current Account. US: Building Permits, CPI, Core CPI, Housing Starts.
Wednesday
Companies: Interims: ADVFN (LON:AFN), Afi Development (LON:AFRB), Frutarom Industries (LON:FRUT), Gem Diamonds (LON:GEMD), Glanbia (LON:GLB), Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK), Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC), UK Commercial Property Trust (LON:UKCM).
The following widely held stocks will be trading in ex-dividend form: Berkeley Group, Hammerson, Mondi, Rexam, Taylor Wimpey, UBM
Economic: UK: MPC Asset Purchase Facility Votes, MPC Official Bank Rate Votes, CBI Industrial Order Expectations. EU: German PPI. US: Crude Oil Inventories, FOMC Meeting Minutes.
Thursday
Companies: Interims: Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ), New World Resources (LON:NWR), Primary Health Properties (LON:PHP), Premier Oil (LON:PMO), PV Crystalox Solar (LON:PVCS), Quindell (LON:QPP), Skyepharma (LON:SKP), Sportech (LON:SPO). Finals: Provexis (LON:PXS).
Economic: UK: Retail Sales, BBA Mortgage Approvals, Public Sector Net Borrowing. EU: French Flash Services PMI, French Flash Manufacturing PMI, German Flash Manufacturing PMI, German Flash Services PMI, Flash Services PMI, Flash Manufacturing, Consumer Confidence. US: Unemployment Claims, Flash Manufacturing, Existing Home Sales, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, CB Leading Index, Natural Gas Storage.
Friday
Companies: Finals: Allergy Therapeutics (LON:AGY). Interims: Rangemaster Group (LON:AGA), Boot (Henry) (LON:BHY).
Economic: None