The Barclays and Lloyds share prices have done well this year. The two have risen by 12% and 11%, respectively this year. The two banks, together with NatWest, HSBC, and Standard Chartered will be in the spotlight today as Rishi Sunak reads the UK budget.
The background: Lloyds Bank is one of the biggest retail banks in the UK. It is also the biggest mortgage lender in the country. It operates its eponymous brand and other companies like Bank of Scotland and Halifax. On the other hand, Barclays is the biggest credit card company in the country. The only difference between the two is that Lloyds does not have major operations abroad. It also does not have any meaningful trading operations.
What happened: Lloyds and Barclays share prices have done well this year for three main reasons. First, the UK has done well in administering millions of vaccines and the number of cases has started falling. Therefore, there is a possibility that the country will continue growing later this year.
Second, the Bank of England has almost ruled-out against negative interest rates. Finally, the two have announced that they will resume paying dividends. They have also done well because of the robust mortgage industry.
Today, the Barclays and Lloyds share prices will react to the UK budget. In it, the chancellor will possibly talk about issues that will have an impact on the companies. For example, if he announces an extension of housing subsidies, these banks could see their shares rise. This is unlikely though.
Lloyds share price forecast
The daily chart shows that the Lloyds share price is at an important place. It is trading at 38.80p, which is slightly below the year-to-date high of 40.85. The shares have found substantial resistance at this level. It seems like a double top pattern. Also, a closer look shows that it has formed an ascending channel pattern that is shown in black. At the current price, it is slightly above the lower support level.
Therefore, at this point, the outlook is neutral. Because of the channel, the shares could attempt to retest the upper side at 40p. On the other hand, the double top pattern is usually a bearish sign.
LLOY share price
Barclays share price forecast
The daily chart below shows that the Barclays share price has been rising. A few days ago, it moved above the important resistance at 158.40p. It has also moved above the ascending triangle pattern and the 25-day and 15-day moving averages. Therefore, the path of least resistance is a continuation of the bullish trend.
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BARC share price chart
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