LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays fell on the stock market mid-session on Thursday, with several sources attributing this decline to statements by the bank’s chief executive on the outlook for profits in the banking sector.
On the London Stock Exchange, Barclays shares fell 2.65% to 153.02 pence towards GMT, underperforming the European banking index, down 0.07%, while the Stoxx 600 advanced 0.77%.
Speaking in a Bloomberg podcast on Wednesday, CS Venkatakrishnan said the stagnation of M&A deals, easing of volatility in the markets and the fact that interest rates are now at their summit should increase pressure on bank profits.
According to analysts, even if these predictions are not specific to Barclays, they weigh on the stock price of the British bank.
“The comments were generic. But I imagine a lot of it was a reflection on Barclays’ prospects,” said Stuart Cole, chief macroeconomist at Equiti Capital.
“He would not be warning about the profitability of banks (etc.) if Barclays was on track to report strong earnings results. He is more likely to be preparing the market for generally pessimistic returns,” he said. he added.
A Barclays investor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he interpreted CS Venkatakrishn’s comments as an attempt to prepare the market for lackluster results at the investment bank.
Barclays will release its third quarter results on October 24.
(Reporting Lucy Raitano; Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
