As we reach the tail end of third quarter earnings season, there are still some major players yet to report their figures. None more so than the lifeblood of the UK economy, the Banks, with the four major players in the sector beginning announcements from next Wednesday.

Furthermore, with the UK 100 only 50 points away from all-time highs, will the Banks be the catalyst for the UK’s blue chip index to mirror its European and US peers with a new record high above 7600?

UK Banks’ North American counterparts have enjoyed a successful Q3 earnings season, with the majority of banks all beating on both top (revenues) and bottom (earnings-per-share) lines.

In the second quarter, earnings day reactions varied from Standard Chartered’s -6% disappointment to RBS’ encouraging 2% rally. Looking further afield, Q1 saw performances ranging from 4.7% (RBS) to -5.1% (Barclays).

In anticipation of the first of the banks’ results – Lloyds on 25 October – the banks have been subject to divergent performances.

Barclays (BARC) has rallied 6.8% from its 10-month September low of 183p, developing what may be a bullish ascending triangle pattern to 209p while remaining around 20% from its 2017 highs. Can results see Barclays’ shares overcome resistance at 196p?

HSBC (HSBA), on the other hand, has retreated from its 2-month October high of 770p, however has since stabilised around emergent support at 740p. Will results see a return to September lows of 705p or propel its shares back to October highs?

Lloyds (LLOY), like Barclays has been under pressure since the end of the first half of the year, falling as much as 15% from its 2017 high. However, shares are well off August’s 4-month low of 62p, altghough have so far been unable to overcome resistance at 68p. Can results on Wednesday change this?

Finally, 2017’s results day outperformer the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has also been the rank outperformer of the fourth quarter so far. Having traded a fresh 22-month high this week, can RBS continue its impressive run of form after results on Friday?

During this crucial reporting period, it’s important for traders of the UK Index and the sector to stay on top of the latest announcements from all of the UK Banks, while having access to the full picture – including earnings previews and broker price targets – in the lead up to those all-important trading updates can place you ahead of the rest of the pack. Where can you get access to this information?

The Accendo Markets research team makes sure our clients are kept abreast of the latest news that could affect the sectors that they are both watching and holding. You too can experience their service first hand, by signing up to receive our full research offering. What better time to discover our award-winning service than during this crucial period for both stocks and indices?

Sam Springett
Senior Trader, 20 October