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On Thursday, the UK’s FTSE 100 experienced a slight decline, with bank stocks, led by Standard Chartered, posting disappointing earnings. The FTSE 100 index declined by 0.8% heading into the close.London-listed shares of Standard Chartered experienced a significant drop, down by over 10%, leading it to take the bottom spot on the blue chip index. The stock was briefly halted for trading following a massive one-day slide of as much as 17%, marking the largest decline since December 1988. The decline was prompted by reports of a significant drop in profit and larger-than-expected impairments related to the bank’s China business. In the third quarter, the pre-tax profit fell by 33% to $633 million, significantly below the average analyst estimate of $1.41 billion, as reported by LSEG data. Credit impairment charges increased by $62 million, with a $186 million charge related to Chinese commercial real estate. The disappointing results took investors by surprise, and the stock had previously shown an increase of approximately 15%.On the positive side of the ledger Ocado holds the top spot on the FTSE today gaining more than 7% on the session after announcing that during the first nationwide digital deposit return scheme (DDRS) trial led by Ocado, over 20,000 cash rewards have been redeemed by consumers. Since July 14, Ocado Retail customers have had the opportunity to claim monetary rewards for recycling its own-brand two and four-pint milk bottles, using Polytag’s unique QR codes that can be redeemed via the recycling app Bower. This information was revealed in an end-of-trial report.
FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 7470
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