The latest UK inflation data, as well as earnings from companies across a range of sectors, will be in focus in the week ahead.
The UK consumer prices index (CPI) reading for February is due out on Wednesday, with this inflation data covering before the start of the conflict between US, Israel and Iran, which has sent oil prices soaring and fuelled fears of a resurgence in pricing pressures.
In terms of earnings, investors will be looking at full-year figures from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD (1211.HK), amid efforts to expand its global footprint.
Back in the UK, upgraded profit guidance from Next (NXT.L) has signalled that the retailer expects to report a strong end to the year.
Fellow FTSE 100 (^FTSE) stock Kingfisher (KGF.L), the home improvement retailing group behind B&Q, has also set a positive tone for its full-year results with a profit guidance upgrade.
On the FTSE 250 (^FTMC), housebuilder Bellway (BWY.L) is to release half-year results, having already given investors some indication of performance in a February trading update.
Here’s more detail on what to expect:
Inflation in the UK fell to 3% in January, which was the lowest reading since March last year. February’s CPI reading, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is due to publish on Wednesday, is expected to ease further to 2.9%.
However, Interactive Investor’s head of investment Victoria Scholar points out that this “mostly captures the period before the start of the Iran war on 28 February with the effects of the conflict likely to start showing up next month.”
Read more: UK government borrowing rose by more than expected to £14.3bn in February
“With brent crude up by more than 50% over the last month and more than 75% since the start of January, the energy price shock has caused inflation fears to resurface with a vengeance,” she said.
Oil and gas prices have surged as the conflict has resulted in disruption to flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route and seen strikes on key energy facilities in the Middle East.
The Bank of England warned that inflation will be higher in the “near term” due to the shock from higher energy prices, as it announced it had kept interest rates on hold at 3.75% on 19 March.
A bumpy first few months of trading in 2026, has left BYD’s Hong Long-listed shares 9% in the green year-to-date.
AJ Bell’s investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said: “Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has undergone a significant shift in focus over the last year as it moves away from pure domestic volume growth towards increasing its global footprint and adopting a laser focus on margins.
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“The narrative has switched from ‘shipping from China’ towards international manufacturing.”
They said that analysts are forecasting continued margin decline and lower revenues from BYD before an expected profit recovery in 2026.
“Investors will be looking for evidence that BYD can exploit its dominance in battery technology to shift gears towards premium models, reducing reliance on the crowded domestic market,” they added.
High street stalwart Next upgraded its guidance for the year in a January trading update, following better-than-expected sales growth towards the end of 2025.
Next said it expected full price sales to have increased by 10.7% to £5.6bn for the year ending in January, up from previous guidance of 9.7% growth to £5.55bn. The retailer forecast group pre-tax profit to be up by 13.7% for the year at £1.15bn, compared to previous expectations for 12.2% growth to £1.14bn.
Looking ahead, Next’s initial guidance for the coming year was for sales growth of 4.5% and a 4.5% increase in group profit before tax to £1.2bn.
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However, Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, pointed out that this outlook was announced before the recent spike in oil prices.
“As a leader in the UK market, Next is well-positioned to navigate challenging conditions better than many of its peers,” he said. “But investors will still be keen to hear how much of an impact this additional inflationary pressure is expected to have on the group’s costs and consumer demand.”
Despite strong financial performance, Next shares are down nearly 10% year-to-date.
Despite noting softening market conditions in the UK and Poland, Kingfisher upgraded its full-year adjusted profit before tax guidance to £540m to £570m, in a third-quarter trading update in November.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said that investors “will be hoping that Kingfisher maintains its recent progress” after upgrading guidance.
Read more: Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% amid Iran conflict
He said that upgrade “comes despite some ongoing disappointment in its overseas operations”.
“The outlook for the company among investors has had a mixed reception over recent times,” he said. “The jury remains out on prospects, but the group could improve its reputation by building on a more positive performance of late.”
Kingfisher shares up more than 8% over one year but are down nearly 5% since the start of 2026.
Jason Honeyman, CEO of Bellway, said in the housebuilder’s February trading update that the company had delivered “robust half-year performance in a challenging market”.
The company reported total housing completions of 4,702 homes for the period, up from 4,577 for the same period in 2025, at the average selling price of around £322,000, which was also higher than £310,581 last year.
Read more: ECB follows Bank of England with interest rate hold as Iran war intensifies
Bellway said it was on track to deliver full year volume output of around 9,200 homes, which would be higher than the 8,749 delivered in its 2025 financial year.
In its outlook, the company said there were “clear signs of improving customer demand in the early weeks of the current spring selling season compared to the subdued trading environment through the autumn.”
Bellway shares have slumped since late February, leaving the stock nearly 22% in the red year-to-date.
Tuesday 24 March
Fevertree (FEVR.L)
GameStop (GME)
Wednesday 25 March
PDD Holdings (PDD)
Chewy, Inc. (CHWY)
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF)
Thursday 26 March
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR.L)
Oxford Biomedica (OXB.L)
Newsmax Inc. (NMAX)
Friday 27 March
Carnival (CCL)
You can read Yahoo Finance’s full calendar here.
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