Barclays share price: Volatility triggers suspension

Trading in Barclays (LON:BARC) was suspended for eight minutes yesterday while regulators checked for evidence of suspicious behaviour, such as insider trading, which could have driven wild swings in its market value.

The freeze in trading followed a volatile session for European bank stocks as worries swirled around the impact of negative interest rates on the sector and low profitability. Sentiment was also hurt by mounting fears over the strength of the global economy as China slows and other emerging market countries such as Russia, Brazil and South Africa continue to lurch from one crisis to another. Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, plunged 9.5 percent yesterday amid concerns about its £5.3 billion loss last year and the prospect of more huge losses to come.

Some analysts suggested that fears about Deutsche Bank’s future have had a knock-on effect on Barclays, with both lenders grappling with similar problems with their investment banks. “Barclays has traditionally been seen as a UK proxy for Deutsche Bank – in history it has had similar characteristics, with an investment bank and capital ratios which are weaker than its domestic peers,” Ian Gordon from Investec was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.
After the resumption of trade, Barclays’s share price closed 5.3 percent lower at 163.9p. Today, the stock has continued sliding. By 08:25 GMT, Barclays had lost 1.16 percent to 162.00p, underperforming the FTSE 100 index, which had meanwhile dipped just 0.15 percent to stand at 5,680.91 points.
As of 08:47 GMT, Tuesday, 09 February, Barclays share price is 161.18p.