The Week Ahead (25 – 29 May): US GDP, UK House Prices, Pets at Home, Hollywood Bowl

An uneventful week for the major indices, most of which rose by one or two per cent, but if my portfolio is any guide, it does feel like some of the animal spirits have returned to UK small caps, at least with companies that are performing well in difficult market conditions.

Ed published an update to his popular clear trends strategy. This has the benefit of both a strong academic backing and now two sets of stocks that have materially outperformed. As Ed pointed out in the article:

The May 2024 "Didn't buy Warpaint?" portfolio is up 71% against the FTSE All Share's 22%. The June 2025 "Didn't buy Rolls-Royce?" list did it again - +30% in just eleven months vs +15% for the FTSE.

This doesn't mean that the current set will generate similar returns, but several stocks on the list have got off to a good start with positive news this week:

• Luceco (LON:LUCE) upgraded expectations following a strong Q1;
• Keller (LON:KLR) reported a strong start to the year in its key North American business; and
• Goldplat (LON:GDP) reported higher PBT for the first three quarters than their broker is forecasting for the Full Year, despite having upgraded expectations a couple of months ago.

It's not been all plain sailing, though, as the list contained two Palm oil producers, M P Evans (LON:MPE) and AEP Plantations (LON:AEP). These have trended higher over the last year due to a large rise in Palm Oil Kernel prices and multiple expansion, as investors re-rated previously modestly-priced stocks. However, the news this week that Indonesia is considering centralising control of commodity exports to boost state revenues and improve oversight of the country's natural resources has taken 25% out of the share prices and broken those previously smooth upward trends.

These moves highlight that with these sorts of strategies, holding a basket of stocks is the way to get exposure to these effects. It also avoids suffering too much from company or sector bad news, which no chart pattern can consistently predict.

Here's what we can look forward to next week:

Economic Calendar

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