Grim Lloyds Bank, StanChart results hit FTSE 100; AstraZeneca gains

(Reuters) – Gloomy quarterly results from Lloyds Bank, Standard Chartered and a clutch of other firms led the FTSE 100 lower on Thursday, while AstraZeneca rose after topping analysts’ estimates on the back of strong drug sales during coronavirus-driven lockdowns.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 0.9%, with Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) sliding 9% to an eight-year low after swinging to a rare pretax loss in the first half of 2020 due to higher-than-expected loan loss provisions.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) tumbled 4% as the lender posted a 33% slump in first-half profit after a six-fold jump in credit impairment charges.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.7%, led by a 7.6% fall for car dealer Inchcape (INCH.L).
Sentiment was further pressured as S&P 500 futures EScv1 could not hold on to overnight gains on Wall Street that were powered by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s pledge to use its “full range of tools” to contain the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. [MKTS/GLOB]

“We’re in a Fed/vaccine driven market,” said Keith Temperton, a sales trader at Lombard Forte.

“The fact that the Fed didn’t do anything unexpected drove (markets) lower. But at the same time, it’s numbers-driven summer trading and very thin volumes as well.”

The export-laden FTSE 100 is on track to record monthly declines in July after rallying since April as faltering economic data and surging COVID-19 cases have dented optimism over a swift post-pandemic economic recovery.
The autos index .FTNMX3350 was among the biggest decliners, extending losses for the year to nearly 50% as the COVID-19 pandemic hammers car sales in the UK. Data on Thursday showed British car output fell by more than an annual 40% in the first six months to the lowest level since 1954.

AstraZeneca (AZN.L) rose 3.3% as the British drugmaker beat second-quarter sales and profit estimates and backed its 2020 forecasts, helped by strong sales of a diverse product range that now includes a potential coronavirus vaccine.