LONDON, March 18, 2026, 13:48 GMT
Barclays PLC gained roughly 1.6% in London on Wednesday, pushing shares to near 400 pence and ranking the bank as one of the FTSE 100’s top performers. This came on the heels of a 1.44% climb Tuesday, with Barclays outpacing the wider market both days.
The gain is significant with investors recalibrating expectations for UK and U.S. rates. Global markets held firm as oil prices slipped, traders keeping an eye on the Fed. Over at J.P. Morgan, analysts pushed out their forecast for the Bank of England’s next cut, now eyeing the first quarter of 2027.
Bank stocks have felt the impact of that shift. On Wednesday, UK financials climbed 1.9%, following a 1.3% bump for the sector on Tuesday that had already given the FTSE 100 a push higher.
Barclays appears better insulated from the direct effects of the Middle East turmoil than certain European peers. According to J.P. Morgan, HSBC and Standard Chartered carry the highest exposure to the region among big European lenders. Barclays, along with a handful of others, keeps its exposure below 1% by both revenue and profit metrics.
Still, the trade isn’t without risk. S&P Global reported this week that UK consumer sentiment dropped to its lowest point since January 2025. Economist Maryam Baluch described the move as among the “first tangible signs” of the conflict’s impact on the domestic economy. Reuters
Capital returns are also giving Barclays shares some lift. On Feb. 10, the bank reported a 12% jump in 2025 pretax profit to 9.1 billion pounds. It raised its return-on-tangible-equity target to above 14% for 2028 and outlined plans to return over 15 billion pounds to shareholders between 2026 and 2028.
That figure factors in a 1 billion pound buyback. According to Barclays’ investor relations site, the buyback program unveiled on Feb. 10 was scheduled to kick off in the first quarter. Then, just two days ago, a company filing disclosed that the bank repurchased 2,992,834 ordinary shares between March 12 and March 13.
Energy prices rewriting the policy script have economists pulling back. Dani Stoilova over at BNP Paribas Markets 360 called the route to a fresh Bank of England cut “narrower and narrower by the day.” Paul Dales from Capital Economics figures officials will “play for time.” Reuters
Flows could also be a factor here. Goldman Sachs reported that hedge funds “aggressively shorted” financial stocks during the week ending March 13. Banks, noted Erlen Capital Management’s Bruno Schneller, have turned into “liquid proxies” for those looking to hedge wider credit risk. Reuters
Barclays’ American depositary receipts traded in New York rose 1.6% to $21.14 as of 13:19 UTC, mirroring gains seen in London.
