Standard Chartered leads FTSE 100 higher in earnings-driven session

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – Londons FTSE 100 climbed on Thursday, driven by strong earnings updates from firms including Barclays, Whitbread and Standard Chartered, although shares of Sainsbury hit the bottom of the index after profit warning due to the costofliving crisis.

The bluechip index rose 0.5, while the domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.4.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

Standard Chartered jumped 10.4 to the top of FTSE 100 index after the emerging marketsfocused lender posted a forecastbeating 6 rise in its quarterly profit, benefiting from higher interest rates aimed at controlling inflation.

pShares of Barclays gained 1.6 after the lender reported a smallerthanexpected fall in its quarterly profit, as it saw strong trading profits from market volatility caused by the RussiaUkraine conflict.

pWhitbread added 2.6 after the Premier Inn owner resumed dividend payments to shareholders and said its future bookings in leisure and business segments at its British hotels have surpassed prepandemic levels.

pBucking the positive mood, Sainsburys fell 3.8 after the supermarket group followed market leader Tesco in flagging lower annual profit due to soaring inflation, taking the shine off a more than doubling in profit for its 202122 year.

Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru Editing by Sherry JacobPhillips

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