Tuesday preview: JPMorgan in focus as US bank results roll in

(Sharecast News) - US banks will be in focus on Tuesday, with quarterly results due from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and BlackRock as earnings season swings into gear. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noted that JP Morgan is treated like a benchmark for the global banking community because it is the world's largest bank.

"Trading revenue was also a major driver of growth for JPM last quarter, and analysts expect a 7% increase in revenue and earnings compared to a year ago," she said.

"The focus will be on net interest income, which is a key metric for JPM, along with any sign of weakness in consumer credit on the back of a softening economy. Analysts will also be watching any losses stemming from the shakeout in private credit.

"Statistically, over the long term, JPM's earnings beat forecasts 4/5 of the time, and the average move in the share price in the 24 hours after an earnings report over the last eight quarters is 3%."

On the macroeconomic front, Chinese trade figures are March are scheduled for release.

TD Securities said that after the "phenomenal" trade report in January-February, it expects some normalisation in March exports. Imports, however, could surprise to the upside as Chinese firms may have rushed to stockpile key goods and commodities amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict, it said.

"We expect March import growth of 18.4% y/y (mkt: 15.0%). As input costs rise, we may see a slowdown in production which could drag on Chinese export growth in the near term," TD said. "We expect March exports to register 8.6% y/y (mkt: 9.4%)."

On the UK corporate front, trading updates are due from tobacco firm Imperial Brands, recruiter PageGroup and Oxford Instruments.

For PageGroup, UBS forecasts a first-quarter constant currency decline of 4% year-on-year, representing a slight further easing rate of decline after a 4.6% fall in the final quarter of 2025 as permanent hiring saw easing declines in Q4'25.

"Management has not, as of yet, provided any guidance for FY26e; however, we expect more colour on full year expectations with March the key month for determining both Q1 results and the trend thereafter," the bank said.