MARKET REPORT: Standard Chartered shares buoyed by £770m buyback

Banking giant Standard Chartered was top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after its profit hit an eight-year high and a fresh £770million share buyback programme was announced.

In a stellar first six months of 2023, the Asia-focused group cashed in on rising interest rates and improved trading in Hong Kong and China.

Group profit soared 29 per cent to £2.56billion to reach the highest level since 2015. That beat the £2.47billion figure analysts had pencilled in.

And its income rose by nearly a quarter to £3.57billion.

As a result, the bank upgraded its outlook for the year and expects income to rise between 12 and 14 per cent, which was up from a previous forecast of 10 per cent.

The positive performance also led the bank to pledge to return a further £770million to investors.

Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, said: ‘We remain committed to sharing the group’s success with its shareholders.’ Shares rose 4 per cent, or 28.2p, to 737.6p.

Standard Chartered shares soared at the start of January following reports that the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates was considering a takeover bid.

But First Abu Dhabi Bank decided against making a formal offer for the bank, though speculation remains over whether it could revisit a deal.

The FTSE 100 inched up 0.02 per cent, or 1.51 points, to 7694.27 while the FTSE 250 fell 0.77 per cent, or 149.23 points, to 19,124.14.

In Europe, the main benchmark in Germany closed at a new record high even as the country’s economy recorded no growth in the three months to June.

Investors in Cineworld were dealt a fresh blow after shares in the world’s second-largest cinema chain were suspended amid ongoing restructuring measures.

The debt-riddled group said it is expected to enter administration on Monday, in a move that will see shareholders wiped out.

But Cineworld insisted its cinemas will stay open.

The shares have fallen 90 per cent so far this year.

At Rightmove, the property website reported a surge in demand from estate agents and new homes developers for its products and services.

Its revenue rose 10 per cent to £16.8m in the first six months of 2023.

That was the group’s highest first-half revenue growth since 2018.

And the average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) increased by 9 per cent to £1,411 per month, meaning Rightmove was on track to reach the top end of its previous forecast range of £95 to £105.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the fact that fewer people used Rightmove’s site ‘says something about the state of the property market’.

Even so, the shares rose 1.1 per cent, or 6.2p, to 558.8p.

There were nervous moments for stockbroker WH Ireland which will cut jobs as it raised ‘urgently’ needed new funding.

It successfully raised £5m by offering shares at just 3p each, a discount of 86.7 per cent.

When the fundraise was announced, WH Ireland said that it was in talks with City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority about a potential wind-down if it cannot raise the money.

It was below the FCA’s minimum capital requirement by £1.9m, meaning that it needs to find at least that much to avoid being shut down.

The firm, which is based near Monument, in the City, said this was necessary as ‘the widely reported multi-year low level of transactional activity in the financial capital markets’ had hit its broker division.

Its shares plunged 66.7 per cent, or 15p, to 7.5p.