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(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at 10,718.99 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors mulled the Autumn Budget.
Standard Chartered was the standout gainer as it lifted its full-year income and return guidance and posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit. In the three months to September end, pre-tax profit rose 27% on the same period a year earlier to $2.25bn, beating analysts' expectations of $1.99bn.
Operating income grew 14% $5.8bn, driven by a third successive record quarter in Wealth Solutions, along with strong growth in Global Markets and Global Banking, the bank said.
For 2026, the bank now expects operating income growth above a previous range of 5% to 7% and return on tangible equity of around 14%, up from previous guidance of more than 12%.
Banks more generally were on the rise after Chancellor John Healey announced in his Autumn Budget that the bank surcharge would double from 3% to 6%, which was below the 8% feared. He also said the surcharge would be "time limited", starting in January next year and lasting for 15 months.
Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and NatWest all rallied.
On the downside, GSK slid even as the pharmaceuticals giant reported a 5% increase in third-quarter sales, driven by strong growth in specialty medicines, and reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
Consumer goods giant Unilever fell despite upping its full-year guidance after delivering another quarter of solid volume‑led growth, with underlying sales up 5.2% and turnover rising 6.7% to €13.3bn. Unilever now expects at least 3% underlying volume growth for FY26 and underlying sales growth of around 5% in the second half.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,104.00p 4.11%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 105.20p 3.08%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,017.50p 3.07%
SSE (SSE) 2,567.00p 3.01%
Barclays (BARC) 432.35p 2.82%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 652.40p 2.52%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 166.05p 1.65%
Computacenter (CCC) 5,320.00p 1.62%
IMI (IMI) 2,904.00p 1.61%
Halma (HLMA) 3,420.00p 1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
GSK (GSK) 1,834.00p -5.00%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,788.00p -2.26%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 341.60p -1.35%
Informa (INF) 841.40p -1.27%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,390.00p -0.99%
Pearson (PSON) 1,315.00p -0.83%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,283.00p -0.57%
Haleon (HLN) 374.80p -0.53%
SEGRO (SGRO) 903.40p -0.53%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,813.00p -0.50%
