Week Ahead: Standard Chartered has its work cut out when it delivers half-year figures

The under-pressure bank Standard Chartered has its work cut out proving there are some silver linings when it delivers half-year figures on Wednesday.

Investors have been agitating for change at the top after a profit warning from the emerging markets bank earlier in the year. Numis predicts pre-tax profits will have dipped to $3.2bn (£1.9bn), compared to $4bn a year earlier. The chief executive, Peter Sands, must convince shareholders that the bad news is coming to an end and things are now moving in the right direction.

Today sees half-year figures from Alent, esure, Fidessa, HSBC, Interek, Keller, Morgan Sindall, Senior, Telecity and Ultra Electronics.

Construction PMI figures are due out today, while the latest snapshot of the UK service sector comes tomorrow. The services PMI reading fell to a three-month low in June and Investec is predicting only a mild improvement for July.

In corporate news, tomorrow sees first-half figures from the temporary power provider Aggreko, Avocet Mining, BBA Aviation, Dragon Oil, Fresnillo, Genel Energy, Hill & Smith Holdings, InterContinental Hotels, LSL Property, Meggitt, Novae Group, Pendragon, Rotork and Standard Life.

The satellite specialist Inmarsat has second-quarter results, while the animal feed distributor NWF Group has finals.

Investors in the Ukrainian-focused iron ore producer Ferrexpo will be looking for clarification of new natural resource levies passed by Ukraine last week when the company delivers its first-half report on Wednesday.

Friends Life, Grainger, Interserve and Legal & General also have half-year figures, while GW Pharmaceuticals releases its third-quarter report and easyJet publishes traffic statistics.

Turning to Thursday, investors will be treated to updates from Amec, Aviva, Cobham, Enterprise Inns, Henderson, Mondi, Old Mutual, Rio Tinto, RSA Insurance, Randgold Resources and Spirax-Sarco.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will also put out its latest announcement.

The week comes to a quiet end with updates from Caitlin and Bellway and third-quarter figures from TUI Travel.