Broker snap: Nomura highlights 'deteriorating' outlook at Barclays

Nomura has maintained its neutral rating and 268p target price for UK lender Barclays saying that while the first-quarter results were slightly better than expectations, the second-quarter outlook is 'deteriorating'.Both revenue (£8,14bn) and adjusted pre-tax profit (£2.445bn) came in ahead of consensus forecasts for the first three months of 2012.However, the outlook statement by Barclays and Deutsche Bank (which also released results this morning) "highlight the uncertainty in the operating environment with April trends looking weaker."Barclays said that while the first-quarter performance was "encouraging", "the continued challenging market conditions mean it is too early to establish the trend for the year". According to Nomura, "The share price is likely to respond to expectations of future trends, rather than those of Q1; market sentiment has weakened since the first quarter and considerable macro uncertainties remain". After an initial strong rise in early trading on Thursday, shares pared gains by mid-morning with the stock up just 0.36% at 211.75p by 09:53. BC