FTSE 100
Lloyds share price has pulled back from its strong gains of previous days after the Isle of Man’s Treasury Minister commented about the loss of 120 jobs from the bank’s branch on the island. Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said that the job losses reflected the challenges banks were facing globally.
Lloyds Bank announced the loss of these jobs on February 3 as part of its restructuring and cost-cutting measures to make the bank leaner and more digitally adapted to a post-COVID banking era. Banks have borne a lot of the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, having seen dividend payments suspended amidst liquidity concerns. The UK banking industry is also struggling to create a system to start the recovery of so-called bounce back loans, due for repayments in three months.
The Bank of England provided a reprieve by suspending plans to launch negative rates in the foreseeable future. However, this may only have provided temporary relief, as sellers take back control of the stock.
Lloyds’ share price is down marginally at -0.05%.
Price found resistance at 38.26 on Monday. This preceded the pullback witnessed on Tuesday. Recovery of upside momentum will lead to a retest of the 38.26 resistance. Above this level, 39.53 and 40.66 line up as potential upside targets.
On the flip side, further decline below today’s low puts the 37.02 support level at risk, with additional downside targets seen at 35.97 and 34.77 respectively. A drop below 32.10 opens the door towards downtrend resumption.
