British investors set for quiet week, focus on oil

The London stock market is likely to remain calm this week, shortened by the bank holiday weekend, with the focus on high oil prices in the absence of any major economic or corporate news, analysts said Friday.
The FTSE 100 index of leading London shares closed at 5,228.1 points on Friday, down 1.59 percent from the previous week.
That was the lowest closing level since July 21, ending a week in which record oil price levels have rattled European stock markets.
The British stock market starts the week on Tuesday as investors and traders return to their desks after the long bank holiday weekend - with the surging oil price at the top of the agenda.
"Time for the City to take a deep breath and get ready for the Autumn onslaught," noted Justin A. Urquhart Stewart, marketing director of 7 Investment Management.
"These next few months are very often a turbulent period for markets as institutional investors return to evaluate the current state of the global economy. This year the dominant theme is, of course, going to be around the price of crude oil."
Oil prices in New York blazed a trail up to 68 dollars late Wednesday, as hurricane fears in the US Gulf of Mexico jangled traders' nerves.
"The question will be when will this 'sea anchor' finally start to have a significant effect in slowing Western economies - or maybe it has already started?"
Two other key market movers would be legislative elections in Japan and Germany, Urquhart Stewart added.
The central corporate event of the week would be the preliminary annual results statement from Diageo, the world's biggest distiller, on Thursday.
Diageo was set to spell out its future strategy this week and brief investors on how it intends to cope with the increased threat of competition in the global drinks market, following Pernod Ricard recent 7.4-billion-pound take-over of Allied Domecq.
Investors will be keen to hear how Diageo plans to keep its market-leading position and future growth prospects intact, especially in its more mature European markets.