Next Week At A Glance

This story features FORTESCUE LIMITED, and other companies. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: FMG

For a more comprehensive preview of next week's events, please refer to "The Monday Report", published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

By Greg Peel

Alcoa will report quarterly earnings on Monday night, unofficially kicking off what is one of the more highly anticipated US earnings seasons. Forecasts suggest high net single digit losses for the S&P500, dragged down particularly bey the energy sector but also by US dollar strength in the March quarter impacting on multinationals.

With Wall Street now having recovered the sharp losses posted earlier in the year, direction from here will be very much determined by actual earnings results.

The news vacuum in the Australian market that has persisted post February result season all the way to now may come to an end next week as quarterly reports roll in from the resource sector in particular but also from other industries. Fortescue Metals ((FMG)) is among early production report publishers and Rio Tinto ((RIO)) will hold its London AGM, while updates and investor days start to flow as well. IOOF ((IFL)), Bendigo & Adelaide Bank ((BEN)) and Transurban ((TCL)) provide their offerings next week.

China is in the frame next week as it rolls out March economic data. We’ll see inflation on Monday, trade on Wednesday and industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment on Friday, along with the March quarter GDP result.

US data next week include retail sales and inventories, inflation, industrial production, consumer sentiment and the Empire State activity index and Fed Beige Book.

Australia will see the NAB business and Westpac consumer confidence surveys along with the jobs lottery on Thursday. On Friday the RBA will publish a quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy.

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