FTSE 100 movers: Banks rally on US earnings; National Grid falls

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,874.21 in afternoon trade on Friday. Banks were the standout gainers on the index after solid first-quarter results from JPMorgan and Citigroup, with Standard Chartered, Barclays and HSBC all up.

Standard Chartered was also boosted after Jefferies lifted its price target on the 'buy' rated stock to 1,000p from 950p, as it said the share price pullback since March "seems harsh in context of favourable operating trends".

It noted that the shares are broadly flat year-to-date, having fallen 22% from the 52-week high reached on 6 March, taking the stock back to the levels which prevailed before news that First Abu Dhabi (FAB) acknowledged a possible offer for the bank. Jefferies said the pullback offers an opportunity for either scaling existing positions or new money.

Notably, it forecasts that StanChart's return on tangible equity can improve by 400 basis points to 11% in 2024 as revenue grows and said it expects the company will generate positive operating leverage and extend share buybacks by a further $3bn.

Insurers were on the back foot, with Admiral, Hiscox and Beazley all lower.

Elsewhere, National Grid fell after it said in an update that its performance for the financial year just ended was in line with expectations, and that the government's introduction of 'full expensing' tax relief for capital expenditure from 1 April 2023, to 31 March 2026 was expected to impact underlying earnings in the 2024 to 2026 fiscal periods.