London Report: GDP figures and housing prices reveal recovery
GROSS domestic product (GDP) figures due on Friday are expected to reveal the UK’s solid recovery prospects, coupled with further good news from Nationwide and Rightmove housing figures earlier in the week.
Analysts predict further improvement in the economy, with third quarter GDP expected to rise.
“We expect GDP to rise 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Manufacturing and construction, together 21 per cent of the economy, will have risen one per cent quarter on quarter even if they did not grow in September – the only month with missing data,” said Robert Wood of Berenberg Bank.
“The services sector disappointed in June and July, which keeps our expectation below super-strong PMIs. The upside risk is that services catch up with the surveys in August, boosting growth substantially.”
Both Rightmove and Nationwide house price indexes are expected to show big boosts in the housing market, with Rightmove today revealing seller numbers in the capital up 15 per cent and asking prices up 10 per cent on September.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee minutes are due mid-week. They are expected to show members voted unanimously for th status quo of 0.5 per cent Bank rate and quantitative easing at £375bn.
The corporate calendar starts today with report from Senior and Quindell Portfolio.
Tomorrow Avia Health Informatics, EpiStem Holdings, Spirit Pub Company, BP Marsh & Partners, Development Securities, Whitbread, ARM Holdings, Reckitt Benckiser Group, UBM, Development Securities, Eurasia Drilling and Telekomunikacja Polska are all set to report.
On Wednesday ASOS, Home Retail Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Norsk Hydro, Sports Direct International, British American Tobacco, Laird and International Personal Finance will all update the market.
On Thursday retail giant Debenhams, along with Tracsis, Avacta Group, Bloomsbury Publishing, Stobart Group, Shire, Unilever, WPP, Go-Ahead Group, Inchcape, Kazakhmys, AZ Electronic Materials, Promethean World and Torchmark will also give figures.
Mail.ru Group, APR Energy, Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen and Samsung Electronics are all expected to end the week with financial reports on Friday.