The Week Ahead: Global gloom brings down Michael Page

Today

Michael Page will give its view on how the economy is affecting the job markets when the recruiter announces its update for the second quarter. Peel Hunt is one broker cautious over the company's prospects, with its analysts seeing "pressure" on its forecasts for the rest of the year amid continuing poor economic data from around the world. Noting that Michael Page has a particularly large exposure to Europe, they are expecting a pre-tax profit of £68.9m for the full-year – £8m lower than the consensus in the Square Mile.

Results/Updates: Bovis Homes, Michael Page, RM, XP Power.

Tomorrow

Given we have just seen the wettest June on record, the high street will not have been enjoying the weather. On Tuesday Marks & Spencer will reveal just how much it has been hit when it unveils its first-quarter statement, with it expected to announce its worst three months of trading for three years. Analysts at UBS are forecasting general merchandise like-for-like sales to be down 7 per cent over the period. They believe its food division may have suffered as well as womenswear, although they add that events such as the Diamond Jubilee should have offset this.

While SIG was cautious at the time of its AGM in May, Peel Hunt warns that "the outlook has become more challenging" since then. Scribblers from the broker believe the building product group's trading statement will focus on conditions in Europe, while they add that it will be another company not helped by our damp summer.

However, the weather could have given Asos a boost. The online retailer is announcing its first-quarter sales figures, and Société Gé*érale's Anne Critchlow is predicting an 8 per cent increase in the UK. She adds that in the US sales "should look solid enough" with a 60 per cent increase, but warns that in the EU – where she is predicting a rise of 15 per cent – the numbers "could be soft for macro reasons".

Results/Updates: Accsys Technologies, Asos, Bwin.party, Ferrexpo, Intermediate Capital, Interserve, Marks & Spencer, SIG, Smiths News.

Wednesday

Ahead of its final results in September, JD Wetherspoons announces its pre-close statement on Wednesday. The boozer's struggle to keep margins up looks set to be a focus once again, and although it is unlikely it will have been hit as hard as it was over the third quarter, Numis Securities' Douglas Jack still expects full-year margins to end up falling by 9.05 per cent.

Increasing costs and taxes have been hard for the group to pass on to what Mr Jack calls its "more price-sensitive customers", and the analyst cautions that his current expectations for the next financial year could prove too optimistic.

Also in focus on Wednesday will be Burberry. JP Morgan Cazenove's analysts believe the luxury retailer will announce that sales over the first quarter of its financial year jumped 15 per cent to £421m, with retail sales up 20 per cent.

Results/Updates: Barratt Developments, Bloomsbury Publishing, Burberry, Galliford Try, Hays, Icap, JD Wetherspoon.

Thursday

SuperGroup has been eager to persuade the market that its SuperDry brand remains in fashion, although there are plenty of sceptics given that its sales growth has slowed for four quarters running. Still, some analysts have been impressed by the retailer's latest range, and the group, which last month was relegated to the small-cap index, will get another chance on Thursday to change investors' minds with the release of its full-year results. In terms of the numbers themselves, after April's profits warning SuperGroup said it expected to post a pre-tax profit of around £43m, and it has stuck to that following the news that overall sales for the 12 months totalled £313.8m.

Results/Updates: Ashmore, Associated British Foods, Centaur Media, Premier Oil, SuperGroup.

Friday

Electrocomponents is among the companies rounding off the week, with the electrical parts supplier publishing its interim management statement at the same time as holding its AGM. Numis Securities' Steve Woolf is expecting "a relatively stable performance" over the first-quarter.

Results/Updates: Electrocomponents, Experian, Polar Capital.

Economics Diary

Today

Eurozone Sentix investor confidence data.

Tomorrow

British Retail Consortium retail sales monitor; Industrial production; Manufacturing production; NIESR GDP estimate; Trade balance.

Wednesday

US Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes.

Thursday

European Central Bank monthly bulletin; Eurozone industrial production; US Federal budget balance; US import prices; US unemployment claims

Friday

US PPI; US University of Michigan consumer sentiment (preliminary).