Balfour on road to recovery after its ‘near-death experience’

B&Q owner Kingfisher, and Clarkson will also deliver updates

Today

Shipbroker Clarkson will be hoping to sail into calmer waters after its shares fell by almost a fifth following a profit warning in April.

The world’s largest shipbroker said that a “challenging environment” had caused deals to be delayed during an already “quiet period” for the market. Investors will demand more clarity on the downturn after the company deemed it “too early to determine the exact impact” earlier in the year. Interim results

Clarkson

Tomorrow

Copper miner Antofagasta handed out bumper shareholder returns in the spring but could strike a more cautious tone after a recent slump in the metal’s price.

Amid trade war fears, copper prices have dropped by 15pc since June but the Chilean miner told investors in July that production and costs had been in line with expectations during the second quarter of the year. Interim results

Antofagasta, esure, Mears Group

Economics Labour statistics (UK), industrial production (EU), GDP second-quarter first estimate (EU), ZEW survey (EU)

Wednesday

Construction firm Balfour Beatty has brushed aside the sector’s downturn as it continues to recover from what its boss Leo Quinn called its “own near-death experience”. The sector has endured a “turbulent last few months” following the collapse of Carillion and the effects of the “Beast from the East”, CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson warned.

However, he said the company’s order book looked “solid” as it worked on HS2 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Interim results

Admiral Group, Balfour Beatty, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Hochschild Mining Economics

Inflation data (UK), house price index (UK), retail sales (US), industrial production (US)

Thursday

The UK basking in the longest summer heatwave in four decades could help B&Q owner Kingfisher post sizzling sales at the interim stage.

The warm weather may have “whetted the appetite for barbecues and garden furniture sales”, but the DIY markets in the UK and France, another key region for Kingfisher, have been “tough”, according to Hargreaves Lansdown’s Nicholas Hyett. Rival Travis Perkins was forced to issue a profit warning last month and the Wickes owner blamed “weak” consumer spending for holding back profitability. Full-year results

Rank Group Interim results

CLS Holdings, Kaz Minerals, Marshalls Trading update

Kingfisher

Economics Retail sales (UK), housing data (US), trade balance (EU)

Friday

No FTSE 350 companies reporting. Economics

CPI (EU)