Another week, another round of interest rate hikes. Under the circumstances, markets have held up remarkably well. As the trading week draws to a close, European stocks are doing their best to stay firm while pre-market indicative prices suggest a decent showing from US markets when they open on Friday.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Standard Chartered jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board after lifting its profit guidance and announcing a $1 billion share buyback. Its 5% share price gain was in stark contrast to the negative market reaction this week to other London-listed banks, with shares in Lloyds and Barclays both falling on their results and NatWest shares barely moving.
“AstraZeneca was in-demand after second quarter results beat estimates. That helped to breath some life back into its share price which had previously found it hard to break out this year.”
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