Friday preview: Non-farm payrolls report, Sainsbury's update in focus

(Sharecast News) - The big event on Friday will be the non-farm payrolls report for December, which is due at 1330 GMT, along with the unemployment rate and average earnings. Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "The data is still super messy but it looks like there is divergence in hiring activity between small and large companies - ADP numbers showed private sector employment rose 41k in December, recovering from November's decline as smaller firms picked up hiring activity even as larger companies pulled back a bit.

"Expect to see around 55k and unemployment tick down to 4.5% - got to remember lower labour supply due immigration policy which means we don't need the kind of big payroll prints anymore as the employment breakeven rate has collapsed to about 30k from 150k a year ago."

Elsewhere, German trade figures and industrial production for November will be released at 0700 GMT, while eurozone retail sales for November will be out at 1000 GMT.

On the corporate front, Sainsbury's will release a third-quarter trading statement.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Sainsbury's delivered a strong set of first-half results back in November, with sales growth of 4.8% to £15.6 billion landing ahead of expectations. The group continued to gain market share, thanks to its herculean effort to improve products, value perception and innovation more generally.

"The ongoing cost-cutting program is helping to offset higher employment costs, and savings are also being reinvested in keeping food prices down. That should have helped lure in more customers in the run-up to Christmas, a period where shopping trollies get piled higher than usual.

"As a result, investors expect there to be plenty for Sainsbury's to be jolly about when it releases its third-quarter trading update next week. The recently upgraded retail operating profit guidance of more than £1 billion for the full year looks within reach."

Friday January 09

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

3i Group, ICG, Land Securities Group, Marks & Spencer Group, Oxford Instruments, Pets at Home Group , Supreme , Worldwide Healthcare Trust, Zigup

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Regional REIT Limited

NPV INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00)

Building Permits (US) (13:30)

Housing Starts (US) (13:30)

Industrial Production (GER) (07:00)

Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)

Retail Sales (EU) (10:00)

U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US) (15:00)

Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alfa Financial Software Holdings , Unite Group

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Associated British Foods