HK Stock Market Move | STANCHART (02888) rises by more than 5% again in the first quarter, with both revenue and pretax basic earnings exceeding market expectations.

STANCHART (02888) rose by 5% in midday trading, up 3.46% to 197.4 Hong Kong dollars with a trading volume of 162 million Hong Kong dollars at the time of reporting. On the news front, STANCHART recently released its first quarter results for 2026, with record-breaking operating income growth of 9% to $5.9 billion, driven by strong performance in wealth management and global banking businesses. Credit impairment charges stood at $296 million, including a general additional provision of $190 million in response to the uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict. Pre-tax profit reached $2.5 billion, up 17%. Citi released a research report stating that STANCHART's first quarter performance was strong, leading to a 12% increase in earnings per share forecast for 2026, and a 4% to 5% increase in earnings per share forecast for 2027 to 2028, driven by rising income in wealth management and banking businesses. Goldman Sachs also commented that Standard Chartered's first quarter performance was strong, with earnings exceeding market expectations by 25%, mainly due to strong non-interest income performance, as well as slightly better-than-expected net interest income and effective tax rate.