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Lloyds (first-half results 1 August)
As usual with Lloyds, the size of payment protection insurance (PPI) provision, its market share of the mortgage market and the size of its structural hedge will be the key elements to watch for in these earnings. Brexit concerns will dominate too, but the strong start to the year and an interesting yield of 5.5% combined with a price to earnings (PE) ratio of 8.3, comfortably below the five-year average of 9.7, suggests the market is pricing in sufficient difficulties over the next couple of years. By comparison, the rest of the sector trades at 14.8 times forward earnings.
Lloyds’ shares are in an ascending triangle as they look to break above 64p and challenge the downtrend line from the 2018 high. A break above 64p opens the way to 65p, while a close below 62p would suggest a further decline towards 60p.