Thursday preview: Sainsbury's results, flash PMIs due

(Sharecast News) - Thursday sees the release of full-year results from Sainsbury's, half-year results from Asos, trading updates from Hikma, LSEG, Man Group, Relx and Segro, and interim results from WH Smith. As far as Sainsbury's is concerned, Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the supermarket retailer's grocery sales continued to impress in the third quarter, rising 5.4% as it gained market share from the competition.

"The group's doing a great job of improving its products, value perception, and innovation more generally, which has helped sales of its premium Taste the Difference range grow by an impressive 15%," he said.

"However, its general merchandise and Argos divisions were a small drag on performance. Given that these areas are more discretionary than food sales, the picture could get tougher in the coming year if oil prices remain elevated, squeezing consumers' budgets."

Looking to Thursday's results, he said top-line growth alongside efficiency improvements should be enough to offset rising employment costs. "And with an all-out price-war between the grocers failing to materialise, guidance for underlying retail operating profit of more than £1.0bn looks well within reach."

On Man Group, UBS said investors will likely be most focused on first-quarter fund flows, which it expects to be up $3.4bn, versus consensus expectations for a $1.9bn increase. In particular, investors will be looking at those related to the higher margin Absolute Return strategies, UBS said.

UBS expects the focus for LSEG to be on the year-on-year revenue growth of its subscription businesses given management's target to accelerate the growth from 6% in 2025 to 6.5% in 2026.

UBS is forecasting 6.2% growth in Q1. "We also think investors will be focused on any updates from the disclosures provided at the FY25 results regarding LSEG's MCP server or information on its monetisation which could further support the view that LSEG can be a beneficiary of increased AI adoption amongst its client base," it said.

On the macro front, the flash PMIs for most major economies are due on Thursday.

Danske Bank said: "Especially in Europe, we expect to see a sharp decline in manufacturing due to higher energy prices, and the price components could give some important clues about whether energy costs are filtering through to other prices.

"Note that PMIs can be more difficult to interpret in times of high volatility though. For example, longer delivery times increase the headline index, so also keep an eye on the output subcomponent.

"In general, even if energy prices continue to decline over the coming months, we still expect to see a negative effect on economic growth for 2026 in most major economies."