The FTSE 100 index has wavered in the past few weeks as investors waited for the upcoming financial statements from key companies. The index was trading at £7,860 on Friday, a few points below last month’s high of £7,928. It has jumped by more than 17% from the lowest level in November last year.
Key earnings to watch
The FTSE 100 index will be on focus in the next two weeks as investors focus on the upcoming earnings and interest rate decisions. The biggest catalyst will be the upcoming interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve scheduled for Wednesday. Analysts expect that the bank will hike interest rates by 0.25% and then start a strategic pause.
The Bank of England (BoE) will deliver its decision next week. Like the Fed, the bank will hike interest rates by 0.25% considering that the British inflation remains above the key point at 10%. Like the Fed, the BoE will likely move to a strategic pause.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/hurrJJAUsA4?feature=oembedThe FTSE 100 index will also react to earnings dump by some of the biggest companies like Apple, Amazon, AMD, Starbucks, Ford, Pfizer, and Uber. While these are American companies, they will have an impact on the FTSE 100 index.
Meanwhile, there will be several key FTSE 100 companies that will publish their financial results. On Tuesday, BP will publish its financial results. Analysts expect that the company’s profitability was helped by working capital improvements and asset disposals.
The other FTSE 100 constituent companies that will publish their results are Barratt Developments and Flutter Entertainment. Barratt’s results will show the state of the housing sector. Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, Sky Betting, Sisal, and Sportsbet, will come a few days after the shareholders voted to list in the US.
Shell, the biggest oil constituent in FTSE 100 will publish its results on Thursday. Other top FTSE constituents to watch will be Next PLC, Mondi, Virgin Money, IAG, and IHG. Lloyds Bank will also publish its results, as I wrote here.
FTSE 100 analysis
FTSE 100 chart by TradingView
The 4H chart shows that the FTSE 100 index has moved sideways in the past few days. It has pulled back from a high of £7,932 to the current £7,861. The index has moved to the 25-period and 50-period moving averages. Meanwhile, the MACD has moved below the neutral point.
Therefore, we could see more movements this week as investors react to these earnings. If this happens, the index will likely retest the key resistance point at £7,932.
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