Standard Chartered share price up after interim results

Standard Chartered’s (LON:STAN) share price has advanced in London this morning as the Asia-focused lender posted forecast-beating interims despite the ongoing trade tension between the US and China. The update continues the FTSE 100 banking reporting season following Lloyds’ (LON:LLOY) update yesterday which revealed a hefty charged over the payment protection insurance scandal.As of 08:07 BST, Standard Chartered’s share price had added 3.07 percent to 697.60p, outperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index having fallen into the red and currently standing 0.42 percent lower at 7,555.22 points. The group’s shares have given up less than one percent of their value over the past year, largely in line with the Footsie.StanChart posts Q2 resultsStanChart announced in a statement this morning that its underlying profit before tax had climbed 11 percent to $2.6 billion in the six months to June 30. Bloomberg noted in its coverage of the news that the result had surpassed a company-compiled $2.5 billion estimate. Operating income meanwhile rose one percent to $7.7 billion.The Asia-focused lender further said that its primary performance measure return on tangible equity had improved 88 basis points to 8.4 percent and noted that it remained confident that its strategy will deliver a full-year return on tangible equity greater than 10 percent in 2021.The group’s chairman José Viñals, however, noted that global economic growth had slowed in the late months of last year and the first half of the current year, adding that “trade protectionism is bad for the global economy”. He nevertheless pointed out that StanChart stands “to benefit over time as China continues to open and places more emphasis on trade corridors radiating through Asia and connecting it with our markets in Africa and the Middle East”.Analysts on FTSE 100 lenderBloomberg quoted analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove as commenting in a note that the Asia-focused lender’s second-quarter earnings had showed growth momentum and positive operating leverage.According to MarketBeat, the Asia-focused lender currently has a consensus ‘hold’ rating while the average target on the Standard Chartered share price stands at 712.07p.