FTSE 100 shares to watch: BAE Systems, Vodafone, Rolls-Royce, Royal Mail

The FTSE 100 index had another difficult week as the recent rebound faded. The index, which tracks the biggest UK companies, settled at £7,615 on Friday, down from last week’s high of £7,690. It reacted mildly to the latest Bank of England (BoE) decision and a series of corporate earnings, including from Shell. Here are some of the top FTSE 100 index to watch this week.

BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Holdings

Rolls-Royce (LON: RR) and BAE Systems (LON: BA) are some of the best-performing FTSE 100 index companies in the past few months. RR shares have surged by more than 800% from its lowest point in 2020. This recovery happened as investors cheered the recovery of the civil aviation industry. 

BAE Systems, on the other hand, has risen by over 230% from its 2020 lows. The two companies have rebounded as defense spending has jumped following the Russian invasion of Ukraine followed by the crisis in the Middle East.

Further, the ongoing fear that Russia will invade Ukraine has led to more spending by Western countries. Therefore, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce will be in the spotlight this week as Saudi Arabia hosts the World Defense Show. This is an annual show that brings most companies in the industry to showcase their products and make deals.

BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce will be present at the event and analysts will be watching for potential announcements.

Earnings from Vodafone, AstraZeneca, Royal Mail, and BP

The other companies to watch will be those that will publish their financial results this week. Vodafone, the giant telecommunication company, will go first when it releases its results on Monday. While the results are important, traders will focus on its update about its Italian business. 

Last week, its stock plunged after rejecting an offer of its Italian business from Iliad. This offer, worth over 11 billion euros, would have created a giant Italian company. Now, Vodafone will likely be at a disadvantage when talking with Fastweb, a company owned by Swisscom. 

BP will publish its financial results on Tuesday, a few days after Chevron and ExxonMobil released strong earnings. BP likely benefited from the resilient oil market, with the price of Brent remaining above $70 in the final quarter of the year.

The other important UK companies that will publish their results this week are AstraZeneca, IDS, the parent of Royal Mail, Ashmore Group, and Barratt Developments. All these companies will have something to show. 

Barratt Developments will provide more information about the housing market as signs emerge that it is recovering. House prices have jumped in the past four months straight even as mortgage rates have remained at an elevated level.

IDS, the parent company of Royal Mail and GLS, will update on the recent deliberations on reducing its mandatory delivery days in the UK. If passed, these new proposals will save the company millions of pounds annually.

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