British banks up on Citi rallying call

A BULLISH broker note on the sector from Citigroup helped some of Britain’s banking stocks rise yesterday despite lingering worries about Greece.

While acknowledging the unprecedented de-leveraging facing the sector, Citi said technical analysis suggested it could continue its recent rally.

Analyst Andrew Coombs said: “Share observation of previous financial crises suggests that bank share prices usually trough only one to two years after the peak in loans and three to five years before the de-leveraging process completes. UK bank lending peaked in December 2009.”

The note reiterated “buy” ratings on HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered but singled out Barclays as its pick of the sector. However, Barclays fell 3.2p to 233.6p as investors awaited its results tomorrow. Lloyds was 0.5p higher at 35.8p, HSBC gained 3.5p to 565.5p, and Standard Chartered cheered 6p to 1,597p. Royal Bank of Scotland was down 0.04p to 28.8p.

The FTSE 100 Index had pushed above the 5,900 mark during early trading but slipped back to close 14.33 points lower at 5,875.93, a fall of about 0.4 per cent, amid uncertainty over the outcome of protracted talks between Greece and its creditors.

Offshore safety gear maker Cosalt, which has a major part of its business in Aberdeen, issued a statement to the stock exchange saying its management knew of no reason for a sudden leap in its shares. The company, which is set to be taken private by majority shareholder David Ross, saw shares leap 67 per cent to 1.43p.

Goals Soccer Centres said it had appointed Collins Stewart as its nominated adviser and broker with immediate effect. Shares in the East Kilbride-based firm were flat at 89p.

NEW YORK: Wall Street closed flat last night after another thinly traded session as Greece remained at a standstill over accepting tough reforms in exchange for a bail-out critical to avoiding a chaotic default.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.22 points, or 0.04 per cent, to close at 12,883.42 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed up 3.01 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 1,350.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended the day up 12.10 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 2,916.18.