FTSE 100 Live: BP Profits Surge While Barclays Sets Aside £823M for Loan Losses

The FTSE 100 opened down with 11 points at 10,310 amid a cautious global outlook and elevated oil prices. Brent crude futures for June climbed 0.4% to $108.68 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose 0.6% to $96.96. 

Gainers & Losers

BP rose 3.28% to £591.20, while Shell advanced 1.75% to £3,309.50 and Diploma jumped 1.52% to £7,010. 

Burberry Group also gained 1.45% to £1,190.20, while Centrica edged up 1.21% to £209.60 and DCC climbed 1.15% to £5,295.

On the downside, AstraZeneca declined 1.15% to £13,812, while London Stock Exchange Group fell 1.41% to £9,802.00 and Experian dropped 1.40% to £2,705. 

Endeavour Mining slipped 0.94% to £4,345, while Spirax Group declined 0.54% to £7,346 and Games Workshop eased 0.33% to £19,490.

Barclays Made Provisions for Bad Loans

Barclays made heavy provision for bad loans following hostilities in the global market. The lender set aside £823 million for potential loan losses, up from £643 million in the same period last year. 

However, Barclays managed a 3% increase in pre-tax profit at £2.8 billion, falling in line with analyst consensus. 

It was also modestly up from the £2.7 billion in the same period last year. The bank’s revenue came in at £8.2 billion, up 6% year-on-year.  

BP Reports Profit Growth

Oil and gas giant BP reported a surge in profits in its Q1 as it continues to benefit from rising prices due to the West Asian conflict. 

Profit increased to $3.2 billion from $1.3 billion last year, driven by the “rising price environment” coupled with seasonal inventory build, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.7 billion. 

Operating cash flow reached $2.2 billion. Chief executive Meg O’Neill said the group was focused on minimising disruption caused by the war, working with “customers and governments to get fuel where it’s needed”. 

Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty50 Gains 53 Points to 24,146, Sensex Near 77,393

Global Market View

In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both grinding 0.1% and 0.2% to fresh record closing highs backed by strength from NVIDIA and other big tech. The Dow Jones dropped 0.1%.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5% to 6,653 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% after the central bank decided to maintain interest rates at 0.75%. In China, the CSI 300 fell 0.3% to 4,753.5 points, while the Hang Seng tumbled 1%. In India, both Sensex and Nifty 50 rose 0.08% and 0.2%, respectively.