What: Get set for a big week! With the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) heavily weighted towards just a handful of massive companies including the 'Big 4" banks, this week's market direction is almost certain to be influenced by the release of earnings reports from the banking sector.
Here's how the calendar is looking:
- Monday 4 May: Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – interim result
- Tuesday 5 May: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) – interim result
- Wednesday 6 May: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – third quarter update
- Thursday 7 May: National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) – interim result
So What: The share market is a forward looking machine which means investors make estimates and forecasts about what the future will hold for a company, particularly what a company will earn. The release of profit results is a time when investors get the opportunity to compare their expectations against the actual results and adjust their outlook for the future.
Here's where one set of broker consensus forecasts are sitting for earnings per share (EPS) and dividends (DIV) for the full year for each of the major banks:
- WBC: EPS 253.7 cents per share (cps); DIV 190.4 cps
- ANZ: EPS 271.3 cps; DIV 186.7 cps
- CBA: EPS 574.4 cps; DIV 430 cps
- NAB: EPS 267.4 cps; DIV 208.4 cps
Now What: With all the major banks providing an earnings update this week and considering how widely owned the banks are, these reports will not only soak up a lot of investor attention but also be an important influence on the direction of the ASX going forward.
