Third-quarter updates from a medical technology group and an engineering Business are due on Wednesday, giving the FTSE 100 a timely read on industrial Demand after a bruising day for miners and metals.

Copper slid to a seven-week low on Tuesday. Mining shares tumbled. The FTSE 100 suffered its steepest one-day decline in a month. Into that setting step two companies that rarely grab headlines in the way banks or oil majors do, but which can tell investors a good deal about the health of the real economy: Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN.), which is scheduled to publish a third-quarter trading update, and Weir (LSE:WEIR), due to release a third-quarter interim management statement, both on Wednesday 4 November.

Tuesday's sell-off and the metals signal

The FTSE 100 closed at 10,638.43 on Tuesday 3 November, down 122.90 points, or 1.14%, from Monday's finish of 10,761.33. That snapped a four-session winning streak. Midday readings put the index around 10,687.72 and early trade near 10,705, which means selling intensified as the afternoon wore on.

Resources stocks were at the centre of it. The FTSE 350 basic resources index fell 2.6% as copper dropped to a multiweek low; Alliance News reported a 2.5% fall in the metal. Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) lost 3.5% and Glencore (LSE:GLEN) 2.8%, while Anglo American (LSE:AAL) was down about 2.8% at midday. Reuters reported that industrial metal miners had touched their lowest level in almost four months, and precious metal miners fell about 2.7% to a three-month low, with Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) among the decliners.

Why does this matter for Weir? In general terms, businesses that Supply equipment and services to the mining industry can be sensitive to how miners feel about future spending. A sharp fall in metal prices does not automatically change a miner's plans, especially over a single week, but it can colour sentiment towards companies further along the supply chain. Investors reading Weir's statement may therefore look for any commentary on customer activity, order intake and the outlook for spending on the ground — and whether recent Volatility in commodities has featured in conversations with customers.

A different kind of industrial bellwether

Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN.) provides a contrasting lens. Demand for medical technology tends to be driven by factors such as hospital activity, procedure volumes and healthcare budgets rather than by the Commodity cycle. That is why pairing it with Weir makes for a useful barometer: one business is tied more closely to heavy industry, the other to healthcare systems.

For a medical technology group's quarterly trading update, investors typically focus on:

Underlying Revenue growth:usually stripped of currency effects and acquisitions, to show organic momentum.

Performance by product area and region:where growth is accelerating or slowing.

Pricing and cost pressures:including the effect of supply-chain and energy costs.

Full-year guidance:whether it is reiterated, raised or trimmed.

For an engineering business serving resources markets, the usual checklist includes:

Order intake and backlog:a guide to the revenue pipeline.

Aftermarket activity:spare parts and servicing, which can be steadier than new equipment sales.

Margins:how well the company is passing on input cost increases.

Outlook commentary:management's view of customer spending plans.

These are standard frameworks rather than predictions. They simply describe the questions likely to be asked when the statements arrive.

Energy costs, rates and the cost of doing business

Two macro forces hang over every industrial company this week. The first is energy. Brent Crude settled on Monday 2 November at $104.77, down $8.66, or 7.63%, before crude slid about 2% on Tuesday in volatile trade as investors weighed talks aimed at ending the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Early on Tuesday, Brent had briefly risen to around $105.25 following a Wall Street Journal report, citing US officials, of a US strike on Iran's Qeshm Island. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said the report "added a degree of risk premium back into the oil price."

High and volatile energy prices can affect manufacturers through the cost of power, raw materials and transport. Tuesday offered a reminder from the consumer side: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (LSE:CCEP) fell 2.1% after flagging cost pressures, with chief executive Damian Gammell saying that "the geopolitical situation has impacted operating costs." That was a drinks company rather than an industrial one, but it shows how sensitive the market is to any mention of rising costs right now.

The second force is interest rates. The Bank of England announces its decision on Thursday 5 November, with a 25 basis point increase from 3.75% to 4% widely expected — the first rise since August 2023. Money markets had fully priced four quarter-point increases by next September, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Higher borrowing costs can influence how readily customers commit to large capital projects, and they can also affect how investors value companies whose profits stretch years into the future.

Many large FTSE 100 industrial businesses report in sterling but earn substantial revenue overseas. Sterling stood at about $1.3417 on Monday and around 83.53p per euro. When the pound strengthens, overseas Earnings convert into fewer pounds; when it weakens, the reverse applies. That is why trading updates often separate reported growth from constant-currency or underlying growth, and why the distinction is worth noting when comparing headlines across companies.

Key dates to watch

Wed 4 Nov:Smith & Nephew Q3 trading update and Weir Q3 interim management statement, alongside other Blue-Chip reports.

Wed 4 Nov:Eurozone Inflation figures, expected at 3.9%.

Thu 5 Nov:Bank of England MPC decision, with a rise to 4% widely expected.

Fri 6 Nov:US October jobs report.

Thu 12 Nov:ONS first quarterly GDP estimate for July to September, at 7:00am.

Wed 2 Dec:FTSE Russell December review announcement, after the UK close.

The bottom line

Smith & Nephew and Weir come at the industrial economy from opposite directions — one through healthcare activity, the other through the resources sector — which is precisely what makes their simultaneous updates useful. They land after a day when copper's slide dragged miners sharply lower and the FTSE 100 lost more than 1%, and a day before an expected rate rise. Whatever the two companies report, investors will likely be reading for clues on demand, costs and confidence, and on whether Tuesday's commodity jitters are visible beyond the miners themselves.