The Barclays share price started the year well. It has risen in the past three straight days and is hovering slightly below the highest level in 2021. The BARC stock has jumped by over 128% from the lowest level in 2021.
Barclays and other UK banks were the best performing shares in the FTSE 100 index on Thursday. Standard Chartered, NatWest, HSBC, and Lloyds all rose by more than 2%. This rally was mostly because of the minutes of the Federal Reserve.
On Wednesday, the Fed hinted that it will hike interest rates at least three times this year. Historically, banks tend to do well in a period of higher rates. In the UK, the Bank of England (BOE) has already hiked interest rates by 0.25% and analysts expect that it will implement about 3 to 4 rate hikes this year.
However, while rate hikes will boost banks margins, there are some challenges that could temper this recovery. For example, there is a possibility that the important housing market will start slowing down in the UK and other key markets.
The daily chart shows that the BARC share price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few months. The stock has risen by about 13.50% from the lowest level in December. It has also managed to move above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the MACD has also tilted higher.
It is also a few points below the 2021 high of 204. Therefore, while the overall outlook for the stock is bullish, investors should exercise caution. For one, the stock seems to be forming a double-top pattern, which is one of the most accurate bearish pattern. The chin of this pattern is at 176p.
As such, more gains will be confirmed if the stock moves above the key resistance at 204p. It will signal that there are still more buyers left in the market.
This post was last modified on Jan 07, 2022, 07:40 GMT 07:40