The reporting season hasn’t quite kicked off but a number of juniors have already left a bad taste in investors’ mouths with experts expecting more negative than positive earnings surprises over the next four weeks.

The dour outlook comes at a transition point for the Australian economy, where weakness in a number of sectors, such as retail and finance, has yet to be offset by the expected wave in mining investment. The recent series of profit warnings issued by small industrials has shown how vulnerable the sector is at this inflection point.