Hastings, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays

“The FTSE100 followed falls on Wall Street and in Asia with investors waiting on a raft of economic data ahead of the long weekend. In the UK, mortgage approvals, preliminary GDP and the index of services will be closely watched, while the eurozone's consumer price index, private loans and M3 money supply will also be in focus,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Insurance group Hastings was one of the strongest FTSE250 risers after it completed the virtuous circle of increasing market share while raising car premiums in the first quarter. Hastings has increased its share of the UK private car insurance market from 6% to 6.7% despite making targeted rate rises following the reduction in the Ogden personal injury discount rate. The group’s data driven business model continues to generate double digit growth with live customer policies growing by 14%. The group’s shares were up by more than 3.2% in early trading.

“Royal Bank of Scotland was among biggest blue-chip risers after reiterating its forecast that it would return to profit by the end of 2018. RBS had a strong first quarter, swinging to an attributable profit of £259m from a loss of £968m a year ago. The bank’s optimism is underscored by a strong and improving core and fewer remaining legacy issues. RBS’s shares were up by over 1.7%.

“Barclays Bank’s shares fell despite first quarter pre-tax profits more than doubling to £1,682m. The increase was driven by improved profitability in the core business and materially lower losses in the non-core segment. Barclays, though, took a huge hit on the sale of its African business which cut net profits. The bank’s shares were down by over 4.8%.”

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