Shares in Barclays rally 3.8 percent with traders citing talk ofpotential upgrades should the UK lender meet targets set out in the firm'supdate on Tuesday, potentially catching bearish investors out.
Barclays is to axe at least 3,700 jobs and prune its investment bank, undera restructuring plan launched by its new chief executive which seeks to cut 1.7billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in annual costs and improve standards.
"Barclays shares are picking up some momentum ... Talk of upgrades of 5-10percent through 2014/5 if specific targets set out are met," a London-basedtrader said.
Investec reaffirms its "buy" rating and places its forecasts and targetprice under review but prior to Tuesday's update, 11 out of 24 analysts revisedtheir earnings estimates over the last 30-days with an average revision of minus3.6 percent.
The number of Barclays shares being utilised by investors taking shortpositions remains at multi-year highs around the 6.3 percent level, above themarket average of 5.49 percent, according to data from Markit, suggestinginvestors had been expecting worse from the bank.
UK peers Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group gained 2.5 percent and 3.2 percent respectively, with traders citing areadacross from Barclays.
Reuters messaging rm://david.brett.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
Barclays (BARC)
Lloyds (LLOY)