The FTSE 350 endured a week of turmoil last week. And it’s not at all clear whether this week will be any less traumatic.
What a week that was
There are growing signs of a split in the Conservative party over Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. And early Monday, rumours emerged that he’s set to back down on his 45p tax rate move. By the time you read this, it might have happened.
Prime Minister Liz Truss is still not revealing the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic forecasts. Will that boost in investors’ confidence this week?
The FTSE 100 ended last week still well under the 7,000 level, at 6,894 points. That’s a 1.8% fall over the week.
The FTSE 350, meanwhile, suffered a 2.2% fall to finish Friday on 3,797 points. Both indexes ticked up a few points on Friday.
US markets
Over in the US, the stock market ended the week on a down, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both losing 1.5% on Friday.
The S&P finished at 3,586 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq remained firmly below the 11,000 level, ending Friday on 10,576 points.
Manufacturing and construction figures are due on Monday.
Company news
There’s not much happening Monday on the company news front, but we have a couple of interesting updates coming through the week.
In particular, first-half results are due from Tesco on Wednesday. The Tesco share price has fallen quite sharply since the middle of August, presumably as investors fear a general slowdown in spending. Competition from the cut-price cheapies Aldi and Lidl is another concern.
Prior to that, on Tuesday, Greggs will deliver a Q3 update. In this case, we’ve seen a gradual share price fall over the past 12 months.
Dividends
There’s not much dividend activity Monday, with interim dividends being paid to CLS Holdings and Warehouse REIT.
Thursday and Friday are the big days this week. Interim ex-dividend date arrives for a number of companies Thursday, including Centrica, whose share price has had a decent 12 months. Kingfisher is included too, though its shares have done less well.
Other companies will be handing over their interim cash on Friday.
Oil and gold
As of Friday, the oil price was still on a gradual decline, as Brent Crude ended the week a fraction under $88 per barrel.
The price of gold crept up last week. At $1,667 per ounce, it’s opening the week essentially unchanged.