Source: Sharecast
In Europe, Lufthansa will publish its annual numbers. UBS expects the German airline to post revenues €40.20bn, versus €37.58bn in 2024 and consensus of €39.93bn, with stabilised yield growth. It also forecasts an operating profit of €2.03bn versus €1.65bn a year earlier and consensus of €1.91bn. UBS expects net income of €1.50bn, compared to consensus of €1.44bn.
"Outlook, cost control, airfreight outlook, MRO, M&A will likely be the focus," the bank said.
On the macro front, German factory orders for January will be out at 0700 GMT, while the US non-farm payrolls report for February is at 1330 GMT, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings. US retail sales figures for January are also due at 1330 GMT.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said the market expects a reading of 60,000 for February, which is less than half the 130,000 jobs recorded for January.
"US jobs growth is expected to moderate after a robust start to the year," she said. "The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.3% after falling back from 4.4% last month. There is a risk of a downside surprise, as weather-related issues could hurt jobs growth last month, after major snowstorms across the US in late January and early February may have acted as a short-term hindrance to hiring. If construction and leisure and hospitality jobs are weaker than recent trends would suggest then this could be a sign that payrolls have been impacted by winter storms and investors may choose to look through this data.
"After the slowest labour market outside of a recession since 2003, analysts will comb through this report to see if there are signs of stabilisation in the US labour market, or if the data points to continued weakness ahead. A sluggish jobs market could weigh on consumer sentiment, and retail sales will also be released on Friday. Headline sales are expected to fall 0.3% for January, however, core sales are expected to expand at a 0.3% rate, bouncing back from a dismal -0.1% reading in December."
Brooks said the "double whammy" of NFPs and retail sales could trigger a market reaction.
"Weak data may boost hopes of a faster pace of rate cuts from the Fed," she said. "There are currently 2.4 rate cuts expected from the Fed this year, with the first cut expected by June. If the data is weak, then we could see the market shift to pricing in a third cut in the back end of this year. The impact on the dollar will depend on if it is still a safe haven of choice post the conflict in the Middle East."
Friday March 06
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
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QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
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QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
CRH (CDI)
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Credit (US) (20:00)
Factory Orders (GER) (07:00)
Gross Domestic Product (EU) (10:00)
Industrial Production (GER) (07:00)
Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)
Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)
FINALS
IMI
AGMS
Chenavari Toro Income Fund Limited NPV
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Halifax House Price Index (07:00)
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