The Week Ahead: M&S, UK inflation and US monetary policy

As the eurozone’s debt crisis bubbles away and markets continue to digest Friday’s disappointing US jobs data, investors will focus this week on results from Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), UK inflation figures and US monetary policy.

Marks & Spencer: happy buyers

Marks & Spencer, Britain's biggest clothing retailer, is due on Wednesday to publish results for its first quarter to the end of June.

Analysts at Oriel Securities said they expected the figures to show further market share gains to leave the closely watched like-for-like sales measure in general merchandise down 0.5%, but up 1.5% in food.

‘With the shares trading on just 10.6x March 2012 earnings and an impressive recovery in prospect, we remain happy buyers of M&S with a 525p price target,’ they said in a research note earlier this week.

People, oil, pubs and fashion

The M&S results will be preceded on Monday by a trading announcement from Michael Page (MPI.L), the recruiter, and one from Premier Oil (PMO.L) on Tuesday.

Fashion retailer Supergroup (SGP.L) is also to publish final results on Wednesday, while pubs firm JD Wetherspoon will release a trading announcement and luxury goods group Burberry (BRBY.L) will give an interim management statement.

John Stevenson, analyst at Peel Hunt, pointed out that the focus in Supergroup’s results would be on recent trading, ‘effectively meaning the three-week period since the investor day, a ridiculously short and unrepresentative period for any retailer.’

‘Against a high street in mark down and warm weather, such numbers may not impress,’ he said, noting that any perceived weakness in UK trading may well lead to softening forecasts.

Stevenson added: ‘Nonetheless, the potential for continued double-digit growth is not reflected in the share price and we believe online and overseas continue to outperform.’

Online fashion firm ASOS (ASOS.L)  is also set to make a trading announcement on Thursday, as is Mothercare (MTC.L), while credit information firm Experian (EXPN.L) is to make an interim management statement on Friday.

UK inflation: stubbornly high

Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics is to publish inflation data for June on Tuesday, in addition to a report on the UK trade balance.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said the figures are expected to show annual consumer price inflation was stable at 4.5% in June – its highest level since October 2008 and more than double the Bank of England's target level.