- Summary:
- The FTSE 100 index will have a busy day today. Investors will watch out for Shell, which will go ex dividend, Burberry, National Grid, and WH Group earnings
Table of Contents
The FTSE 100 index is down by 0.86% in the futures market ahead of a busy earnings and dividends day. The index is trading at £6,337, in its first day in the red in the past 11 days. Among the companies traders will be watching in the FTSE index are Burberry, Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, National Grid, and WH Group.
Royal Dutch Shell goes ex-dividend
Royal Dutch Shell shares have risen substantially in the past few days. The oil supergiant released strong earnings recently and the higher crude oil prices have helped boost confidence in the stock. The recent announcement of a Covid vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTechhave also helped bring back investors to the name. In the past five days, Shell share pricehas jumped from less than 1000p to the current 1,190p.
Notably, the stock has also risen because of a substantial increase of its dividend. With Shell going ex-dividend today, it will be among the top FTSE 100 component to watch.
Shell share price 5-day performance
Other companies in the FTSE index will also go ex-dividend today. They include GlaxoSmithKline, RSA Insurance, and Fergusson.
Earnings to watch in the FTSE index
In addition to ex-dividend stocks, investors will be watching out for key earnings/interims from the several FTSE companies. The most notable one will be Burberry, the luxury apparel-maker. The company is expected to show strong trend in the third quarter because most stores were open in Europe, the US, and Asia. This will be a significant turnaround after the company’s revenue dropped by 49% in the second quarter.
High expectations for Burberry
WH Smith, the bookstore operator will be a key company to watch in the FTSE 100. Like Burberry, analysts believe that the firm will report strong numbers but warn of the fourth quarter. That is because, in the third-quarter, most of its stores were open as the government eased restrictions. However, with parts of the UK being in a lockdown, the outlook could be weak.
Other companies releasing their earnings or updates today are National Grid and Premier Oil.
The FTSE 100 will also react to the first estimate of UK GDP data. Analysts expect that the UK economy bounced back by 15% in the third quarter after recording a significant contraction in Q2.
FTSE 100 technical outlook
Turning to the daily chart, we see that the FTSE index has jumped by more than 16% this month. By so doing, the index has managed to move above the first support level of the Andrews pitchfork tool and is approaching the median line. Also, the FTSE is a few points below the June high of £6,502. It is also above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level.
Therefore, even with the slight decline today, I believe that the outlook is substantially bullish, with the next target at £6,500. However, a move below the first pitchfork support will invalidate this trend.
FTSE index technical chart
