Wednesday preview: Topps Tiles update, UK manufacturing PMI due

(Sharecast News) - Things will start to really quieten down on Wednesday as we head towards the long Easter weekend. There won't be much happening on the UK corporate front, but a half-year trading statement is due from Topps Tiles.

In a trading update in January, the tile specialist reported its fifth consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth.

In the 13 weeks to 27 December, revenue excluding CTD - the tile business it bought in August 2024 - rose 3.7% year-on-year, outperforming the market.

Revenue in the Topps Tiles brand grew 2.0% on a LFL basis, supported by a continued strong performance in trade and growth in the company's "Mission 365" strategic category extensions. This marked the fifth quarter in a row of LFL growth for the brand, helping to mitigate the impact of the continued cost inflationary environment, it said.

Topps Tiles said at the time that including CTD, group sales rose 1.6% in the first quarter. It pointed out that the CTD operation is now smaller than it was in the prior year, trading from 22 stores, down from 31.

On the macroeconomic calendar, RatingDog's China manufacturing PMI for March is due, while the S&P Global March manufacturing PMI for the UK will also be released.

US retail sales data for February will be published in the afternoon, along with the ISM manufacturing PMI for March.