Tuesday preview: Spring Statement eyed; Greggs, Inchcape among those reporting

(Sharecast News) - Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spring Statement on Tuesday, while the Office for Budget Responsibility will publish new forecasts for the economy and public finances. Morningstar economist Grant Slade said it's expected to be a "fairly humdrum" budget this year, with an absence of material tweaks to spending or tax policies.

"Beyond the government's wish to portray a sense of policy stability on Tuesday, this year's Spring Statement marks the first time the OBR will not publish a formal assessment of government progress against its fiscal rules," he noted.

"The idea is commendable and aims to curb fiscal policy volatility by reducing fiscal rule assessments to one per year.

"In reality, the simple removal of a fiscal rules assessment in March may not change the degree of policy volatility we bear witness to each spring. That's because the OBR will still continue to provide an updated economic and fiscal outlook every March. Should the OBR's outlook worsen, it will be difficult for the chancellor to not adjust tax and/or spending policies to signal adherence to the government's self-imposed fiscal rules - whether they've been formally assessed by the OBR or not."

Slade does not expect major policy changes but said there may be some minor tweaks to spending.

"One issue that the chancellor may choose to focus on is youth unemployment. We expect the broader labour market to continue to soften in 2026 and recover cyclically thereafter. By contrast, high youth unemployment rate is a long-standing structural feature of the UK economy and a complex problem for government to address," he said.

"If the government's implied fiscal headroom improves, the government could increase funding of initiatives such as its 'Youth Guarantee' scheme - a £820 million existing funding package aiming to create 350,000 new training and work experience opportunities for young people."

On the corporate front, results are due from Fresnillo, Inchcape, IWG, Greggs, Keller, XP Power, Kier and Reach.

As far as Inchcape is concerned, UBS said it's forecasting 0.8% organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter, reflecting volumes up 11% and ongoing price/mix headwinds of -7.5%. The bank said investors will be looking for any 'first look' commentary into 2026, with current Visible Alpha consensus forecasting 3.9% organic sales growth.

In Europe, Thales and Beiersdorf are among those slated to report.

Tuesday March 03

INTERIMS

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited, Kier Group, PCI-PAL

Q4

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (CDI)

FINALS

Abrdn , Fresnillo, Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (CDI), Greggs, Inchcape, International Workplace Group, Intertek Group, Johnson Service Group, Keller Group, Morgan Advanced Materials, Reach, Synectics, XP Power Ltd. (DI)

AGMS

BSF Enterprise , Gana Media Group, NCC Group, Nuformix