Lloyds shares rose by 1.77% in the London trading session on Wednesday to trade at 50.54p. This marks the biggest intraday gain by the asset since April 4, much as it remains on a general downtrend on the daily chart. Lloyd shares previously experienced a steady ascent in the few days leading to the February release of its earnings report. That rally saw it rise by about 20% between mid-February and early April. However, it has struggled in April, shedding 2.36% of its value as of this writing.
Nonetheless, a repeat of the earnings-fueled rally could be in the pipeline, as the first quarter 2024 earnings release is only a week away. As the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, Lloyds has been adversely affected by high interest rates in the UK, which have kept many customers away.
However, things have recently started looking up for the UK housing sector. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) House Price Balance data released last week showed that only 4% of new houses reported declining sale prices, exceeding the forecast decline of minus 6%. Furthermore, that was a substantial improvement from February’s reading which showed a decline of prices in 10% of new house sales.
An uptick in new house sale prices signifies a better business environment for mortgage lenders like Lloyds. However, inflation is likely to continue affecting the bank’s books, as it still remains stubbornly above the BoE’s target of 2%. The latest inflation figures released on Wednesday showed that UK inflation declined less-than-expected to 3.2% YoY in March, missing the forecast decline of 3.1%.
Technical analysis
The momentum on the Lloyds share price favours the upside, as shown on the 30-minute chart. However, the buyers will need to keep the price above 50.18 to push through the resistance at 50.84. If they succeed in doing that, they could build momentum to rise further to test 51.62. However, a move below 50.18 will favour the sellers to be in control. In addition, an extension of that control could help them break the support at 49.69, and potentially test 49.28.
