Varied fortunes for banks as blue chips end week higher

FRIDAY was a day of two banks in the FTSE 100, as Royal Bank of Scotland soared to the top of the bluechip index, while Barclays fell.

RBS finished the day the index’s biggest climber, up 12p at 265.4p as it swung back to profit for the first time since 2015.

The taxpayer-owned lender posted a £259m profit in the first three months of 2017, against a £968m loss in the same period last year.

At the other end of the scale, Barclays slipped 11.7p to 212.3p despite chief executive Jes Staley insisting the bank’s future looked bright.

Profits more than doubled in the opening months of the year, but the market was “disappointed” by its performance, analysts said.

“While there were signs of progress towards long-term goals, the market has been disappointed by the weak investment banking result at a time when rivals are seeing trading revenues boom,” said Nicholas Hyett, of Hargreaves Lansdown.

Shares in Royal Mail also slid as the company continued to be embroiled in negotiations with unions over the scrapping of its pension scheme. The company lost 16.4p to finish the week at 402½p, as the threat of strike action continues to loom large.

The FTSE 100 closed down 33.23 points, at 7,203.94, but it finished the week almost 90 points higher than it opened. Among the mid-caps,

Drax added 19.1p to close at 323p after analysts at Barclays convinced investors that the company was on a stable footing. Shares had plummeted from a high of 384.6p in January after Drax announced it was reviewing its dividend policy, but Barclays’ Stephen Hunt said the move was a “genuine attempt” to balance growth and shareholder returns. Investors seem to have started to buy back in. Bus and train operator

Stagecoach was hit by a downgrade from HSBC, weeks after it lost the South West Trains rail franchise to a joint venture between travel operator FirstGroup and Hong Kong firm MTR.

Shares in the company dropped 5.7p to 203½p, amid concerns that increased wages and more competition for contracts will limit its future growth.

Also making waves was mid-cap engineer Rotork, which suffered a pay revolt at its annual meeting after 32pc of investors voted against its remuneration report. Shares in the maker of hydraulic actuators and gearboxes fell 5p to 245.9p.

Overall, the FTSE 250 was down 21.28 points to 19,615.36, although a bumper start to the week meant it climbed to its highest ever Friday closing.

Elsewhere, newly listed kitchenware seller Ultimate

Products had a solid day after reporting spectacular half-year results.

Turnover rose 62.2pc to £68.1m, while pre-tax profits jumped 77.9pc to £8.4m. The firm also announced that former Poundland chief executive James McCarthy would become its new chairman.

Shares finished the day up 9½p at 176½p, its highest price since it floated at 128p at the beginning of March.