The FTSE 100 index is in a tight range ahead of a relatively busy week where some of its biggest constituent companies are set to publish their results. The Footsie is up by 0.15% to £6,900 in the futures market as traders wait for earnings by constituent companies like BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Sainsbury, Barclays, HSBC, AstraZeneca, Unilever, Flutter Entertainment, and Persimmon, among others.
FTSE 100 earnings in focus: Corporate earnings are among the most important movers of indices. And this week, focus will be on UK and other major US earnings. In the United States, companies that will publish their results are Boeing, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Facebook among others. Because of the synchronized nature of the global equities, these firms will have an impact on the FTSE 100 index.
Further, the index will also be affected by its constituent companies that will publish their results this week. The most important will be banks like NatWest, HSBC, and Barclays. Analysts will watch out whether these companies will do as better as their American counterparts. Other notable companies will be oil supermajors like BP and Royal Dutch Shell. Focus will be on their overall results and their dividend announcements. The FTSE 100 will also react to earnings by Persimmon, the biggest homebuilder in the country.
A look at the four-hour chart shows that the FTSE 100 index has been in consolidation mode lately. This has led it to form a bearish pennant pattern that is shown in orange while its Average True Range (ATR) has declined.
Therefore, the index will likely break out lower this week. If this happens, the next key level to watch will be the lower side of this pennant at £6,840. However, a move above the key resistance at £6,945 will invalidate this trend.
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