The FTSE 100 index is up by more than 1.15% as investors react to the strong earnings by Barclays bank. The index is trading at £5,852, which is higher than the intraday low of £5,717.
The biggest catalyst for the current FTSE 100 share price is the upbeat results from Barclays. Results from the bank showed that its revenue increased due to the strong mortgage uptake and the exemplary performance of its trading division. The bank also reported better profits because of the reduced loan provisions.
As a result, Barclays share price has jumped by more than 4%. Other banks in the FTSE 100 have also jumped, with Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Standard Chartered, and HSBC being the other best-performing companies in the index. The four of them have gained by more than 3.50% each, making it their best day in the past few weeks.
The FTSE 100 index is also rising because of the strong retail sales numbers released by the Office of National Statistics. The data showed that the headline retail sales rose by 4.7% year on year while the core sales rose by 6.4%. The two numbers were better than the expected increase of 3.7% and 5.0%, respectively.
Other economic numbers from the UK were not pleasing. For example, consumer confidence declined to -31 while the manufacturing, composite, and services PMIs dropped to 53.3, 52.3, and 52.9, respectively. While the numbers point to expansion, they are less than what analysts were expecting.
In addition to UK banks, other top movers in the FTSE are Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Melrose Industries, and Rolls Royce Holdings. All these firms are up by more than 3%. On the other hand, the main laggards are Just Eat Takeaway, Ocado, Intercontinental, and Unilever.
The FTSE 100 index has been in a slow decline recently, as shown by the daily chart. The price has moved below the 15-day and 25-day exponential moving averages.
Importantly, the index is forming a descending triangle pattern that is shown in purple. This pattern is nearing its tip, which means that it will soon break-out lower, potentially next week or in November. Alternatively, a move above the resistance level at £6,000 will invalidate the bearish thesis.
