Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Standard Chartered, which make up 6.8% of the market capitalisation of the FTSE 100, are set to report this week.
Jupiter UK Growth manager Steve Davies has a bullish 17.8% of the fund allocated to banks, including a 7.3% weighting in Lloyds, which reports this Thursday (27 April).
He hailed the government’s ongoing reduction in its bailout stake in Lloyds and said the final sale of the last of its shares would bode well for the bank’s future.
“Not only will this remove a technical headwind to the share price, it will be an important milestone for the company and its staff.”
Markets will be scrutinising the Lloyds Banking Group first-quarter results in the hope the bank will echo the past two years and announce another special dividend. A bumper payout could send the bank’s stocks rocketing.
Barclays, whose CEO Jes Staley recently got into hot water after it emerged he had tried to unmask a whistleblower at the firm, reports on Friday (28 April).
In a results preview Deutsche Bank analysts last week forecast signs of continued recovery for Barclays from its post-Brexit lows.
