It is going to be a busy week on the markets this week, with a number of the world's biggest companies reporting.
We should find out if Barclays' mis-selling scandal has resulted in any further costs, and also whether Chinese supply disruption has taken some of the shine off Apple’s outlook statement
Forward sales at Taylor Wimpey will be a key indicator of how much buyers have left in the tank after a ferocious period of sales for housebuilders.
We'll also get Q1 results from Meta on Wednesday, which will reveal whether Facebook's ad revenues have recovered, or provide confirmation that we may have seen the platform peak.
Apple disruption
The biggest news where Apple is concerned is Chinese supply chain disruption. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates says she expect some negative commentary on this, but ultimately doesn't think the long-term investment case has been derailed.
"Right now, quarterly revenues are expected to rise around 5%," she said.
"That’s lower than some would like and we think the drag is likely to continue into Q3, with the market likely to respond negatively to a worse-than-expected outlook. While that’s disappointing, we know Apple handled early lockdown disruption well back in 2020, and its huge scale should hold it in good stead once more, but of course nothing’s guaranteed.
"More important for the big picture is how well new models have been received, and how rapidly the lucrative Services division is expanding. This is especially pertinent in today’s high-inflation world, as discretionary spending takes a hit.
FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 started the week down 145 points at 7,376 as the market reacted to news that Beijing faces a fresh CV19 lockdown.
Companies reporting today
- Coca-cola - Q1 results
- SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust - Full year results