By Jens Hansegard

 
 
TODAY'S CALENDAR - All times GMT 
Nordic Macro 
 
0800 Norway Mfg June 
 
Other Macro 
 
0930 BoE Inflation Report 
1000 Germany ind prod June 
 
Nordic Equities 
 
0530 Unibet 2Q 
0545 Lundbeck 2Q 
0600 Ahlstom 2Q 
0600 Lundin Petroleum 2Q 
0600 Norwegian Traffic July 
0600 Securitas 2Q 
0600 TDC 2Q 
0630 Sampo 2Q 
0900 SAS July Traffic 
 
Other Equities 
 
0500 Vimpelcom 2Q 
 
 
IN FOCUS:

A batch of Nordic companies will report Wednesday, including Finnish insurance group Sampo and Danish pharmaceutical company H. Lundbeck. Analysts expect Sampo's net profit to be lower than last year, while Lundbeck's net loss is expected to have widened.

A thinner local macro agenda means currency trading will be guided by international developments on Wednesday. But NOK investors will eye Norwegian manufacturing data at 0800 GMT to see if the "somewhat dismal picture that the two latest PMI releases have painted is confirmed or not," according to Danske Bank. Later in the week investors will also be on the lookout for Norwegian core inflation data, due Friday.

Nordic investors will also closely watch industrial production numbers from Germany. Nordea says that somewhat stronger numbers may be in the cards and that production should rise slightly.

Investors will also look to the U.K. The Bank of England has said it plans to provide forward guidance in conjunction with its quarterly inflation report published at 0930 GMT.

Developments in the U.S. remain in focus. Stocks stumbled Tuesday after comments that the Federal Reserve could start tapering stimulus as early as this September.

 
FOREX: 
 
EUR/NOK 
Latest 0350 GMT 7.8689-786 
Previous 2150 GMT 7.8712-95 
%Chg -0.02 
 
EUR/SEK 
Latest 0350 GMT 8.7145-238 
Previous 2150 GMT 8.7131-208 
%Chg +0.03 
 
USD/NOK 
Latest 0350 GMT 5.9206-66 
Previous 2150 GMT 5.9162-217 
%Chg +0.08 
 
USD/SEK 
Latest 0350 GMT 6.5566-622 
Previous 2150 GMT 6.5490-540 
%Chg +0.12 
 
 
NORDIC CURRENCIES:

A thinner local macro agenda means international developments will guide currency trading Wednesday. But NOK investors will eye Norwegian manufacturing data to see if the "somewhat dismal picture that the two latest PMI releases have painted is confirmed or not," Danske Bank says. Later in the week, Norwegian core inflation data will also be in focus--the reading is due Friday.

For SEK investors, SEB noted that lately "the krona [SEK] has suffered again, due to disappointing data including the July manufacturing PMI and weak GDP growth in 2Q." Nevertheless the bank believes Swedish economic growth will increase going forward and positive global developments will boost exports and support a stronger SEK.

 
STOCK INDEXES: 
 
OMXN40  1167.29   -6.13   -0.5% 
OMXS30  1242.12   -9.66   -0.8% 
OBX     455.30    -3.22   -0.7% 
OMXC20  603.37    -6.92   -1.1% 
OMXH25 2377.12    +0.43   +0.0% 
 
Brent  $108.02    -0.16   -0.2% 
 
NORDIC MARKETS:

A number of Nordic companies will report Wednesday, including Finnish insurance company Sampo. Analysts expect a poorer combined ratio amid higher claims to weigh on Sampo's net profit, but also that slightly higher net premiums earned will partly compensate for this. Sampo's net profit is expected to fall 7.8% compared with last year.

Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck also reports Wednesday. Lundbeck is still under pressure due to expired patents--it is expected to report a net loss of DKK433 million for the second quarter--and analysts say growth may have to wait until 2015.

The European Commission fine of EUR93.8 million for anti-competitive practices will hit Lundbeck's results. However, analysts say there is a lot of interest in the sales outlook for Selincro, a new drug that reduces alcohol cravings, and in Abilify Maintena, a schizophrenia medicine.

 
ENERGY:

Oil prices are mixed in Asian trade as investors await the latest U.S. crude stockpiles data for clues about demand, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September, is up 6 cents at $105.36 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for September is down 16 cents at $108.02.

"We aren't seeing huge moves with crude right now as traders are waiting for the official U.S. crude stockpiles data to be out later today," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said.

"Trading remains firm as expectations are that there was a decline in stockpiles," he said.

 
NEWS ROUNDUP:

FINLAND: Upm-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V.HE), the Finnish paper company, said Tuesday that it is introducing a new business structure to sharpen operational focus and facilitate portfolio change while announcing a new profit improvement target of EUR400 million from performance and growth initiatives.

FINLAND: Lassila & Tikanoja Oyj (LAT1V.HE), the Finnish environmental services company, said that it expects full-year sales to remain at the 2012 level, after writedowns saw it post a lower second-quarter net profit.

SWEDEN: Skanska AB (SKA-B.SK), the Swedish construction company, said it is investing $265 million in an office building in the Seaport District in Boston, U.S.

SWEDEN: MTG AB (MTG-B.SK), the Swedish broadcaster, said it has agreed to buy a 70% stake in online business Darik News and Net Info from Bulgarian commercial radio operator Darik Radio for an undisclosed sum, as part of its strategy to boost digital expansion and innovation.

NORWAY: Norwegian Energy Company ASA (NOR.OS), the Norwegian oil and gas producer, said it produced 3,874 barrels of oil equivalents a day in July. The net realised price was $102.8 per boe adjusted for inventory.

-Write to Jens Hansegard at jens.hansegard@dowjones.com

(Johannes Ledel contributed to this report.)