MARTIN ON THE MARKETS

AFTER Friday’s non-session, as the US Independence Day holiday suppressed volumes, get ready for a pivotal week set to be dominated by one thing: US earnings.

Stock markets have rallied of late on the back of hopes that we’ll see a bounce in profits, and this week investors will start to see those hopes look justified or ill-founded.

Aluminium giant Alcoa will set the tone as it kicks off the second-quarter earnings season on Wednesday. 

A quarterly loss of around 34 cents per share is the whisper, but just as important to watch out for is the guidance on future earnings.