Thursday preview: BoE, ECB policy announcements due

(Sharecast News) - Policy announcements from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will be in focus on Thursday, along with quarterly earnings from US tech giant Apple. In the UK, Endeavour will publish first-quarter results, along with Standard Chartered, while Glencore will put out a Q1 production report.

Trading updates are due from Inchcape, Lancashire, Persimmon, Magnum Ice Cream and Unilever, along with FY results from Premier Inn owner Whitbread.

Whitbread shares surged on Monday following a report it's planning to sell a swathe of hotels to unlock £1.5bn for shareholders. According to The Times, the company is expected to announce plans alongside its results for the sale and leaseback of one in five of the freehold hotel properties it currently owns outright, following a strategic review of its business model.

As far as policy announcements are concerned, the BoE and ECB are expected to stand pat on rates at 3.75% and 2.0%, respectively.

Danske Bank said it's pencilling in no rate changes for the coming 12 months when it comes to the BoE, but with risks tilted towards hikes.

"Data has come in mostly on the hawkish side since March as the economy has weathered the energy blow better than expected," it said. "Like consumer sentiment, it could still turn sour, though."

It added: "Hiking rates will have to be weighed against a considerable risk of exacerbating a looming economic contraction. We think it is most likely the BoE will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future."

Danske also expects the ECB to leave the deposit rate unchanged, in line with consensus and market pricing. It expects Lagarde to leave the door open for summer hikes in order to keep inflation expectations anchored, but at the same time not pre-commit to hikes.

"We expect the ECB to increase policy rates by 25 basis points in June and July," Danske said.

Regarding Apple's results, Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said it won't just be revenues that investors want to hear about.

"We have already heard that Tim Cook is stepping down in September and John Ternus will succeed him. The company is expected to report revenues of $109.45bn for last quarter, but investors may want to get some sense of what Ternus will bring to Apple when he takes over later this year. Will he push Apple down the AI route, something Cook was unwilling to do?

"Apple is also known for its shareholder sweeteners, and share buybacks and dividends could also be on the cards. This may boost enthusiasm for the stock, which is basically flat year to date."

Also in the spotlight on Thursday will be first-quarter US GDP figures, amid expectations for a 2.3% increase, and for core prices to have jumped 4.1% from 2.7% in Q4 2025.

Kathleen Brooks said: "However, after Wednesday's raft of economic data from the US, there are some who are concerned that the growth rate could disappoint expectations after weakness in housing starts and building permits in February.

"A weaker than expected GDP reading, or a stronger than expected rise in the prices index, could knock confidence in financial markets, which is already roiled by events in the Middle East."