British stock market focus next week april 23-27 2012

British stock market focus next week april 23-27 2012, FTSE 100 index outlook next week april 23 2012, uk stock market prediction next week april 23 2012, london shares market forecast next week april 23-27 2012, Britain economy : The British stock market will focus next week on critical first-quarter growth data that will show whether or not the economy had slumped back into recession. Investors will also zero in on a raft of results from big-hitting companies including Barclays bank and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares finished at 5,772.15 points on Friday, up 2.13 percent from the previous week.

The first official estimate of British gross domestic product in the three months to March is due to be published Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.

Britain's economy shrank by a worse-than-expected 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and a further contraction would put the country back in recession.

Market expectations are for slim growth of just 0.1 percent, according to economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires. That would mean that Britain narrowly avoids entering a technical recession, defined as two successive quarters of negative figures.

However, many pundits remain deeply concerned that the economy may have suffered another contraction.

"There is serious concern that reported very weak construction output will have been a major drag on the economy and resulted in a second quarter of GDP contraction, thereby officially putting the economy back into recession," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.

Aside from the GDP data, investors will also look closely at important first-quarter corporate earnings.

The busiest day is Thursday, when Barclays, Royal Dutch Shell and drugs firm AstraZeneca unveil results.

Other companies reporting their latest earnings includes pharmaceuticals peer GlaxoSmithKline, publisher Pearson and advertising bellwether WPP.

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