London, Feb 3, 2026, 07:59 GMT — Premarket
- Lloyds shares jumped 2.3% on Monday, closing at 111.45 pence, marking a 52-week high.
- Investors await the Bank of England’s rate decision on Thursday, widely anticipating the central bank will hold rates steady.
- A new buyback filing and recent broker upgrades are driving moves ahead of the week’s major macro event.
Lloyds Banking Group shares approach Tuesday trading close to a 52-week peak, having risen 2.29% to 111.45 pence by Monday’s close. (Hargreaves Lansdown)
Thursday brings the Bank of England’s decision on Bank Rate, the key benchmark interest rate, along with an updated economic outlook. Reuters polled economists who largely expect the BoE to keep rates steady at 3.75%. Sanjay Raja from Deutsche Bank flagged that the timing for any rate cuts is “increasingly into question.” (Reuters)
Lloyds isn’t dealing in abstractions when it comes to interest rates. With a heavy focus on UK mortgages and consumer banking, even minor changes in traders’ rate expectations can send the stock swinging quickly.
Monday’s rally was boosted by a wider surge in financial stocks, pushing the FTSE 100 to a new record close. Barclays and NatWest Group each gained roughly 2.7%. Senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank attributed the upbeat mood to “improving global risk sentiment.” (Reuters)
Lloyds reported continued steady demand for its own shares in its buyback program. In a filing late Monday, the bank revealed it purchased 9,126,119 shares at a volume-weighted average price of 108.9401 pence via Goldman Sachs International and plans to cancel them. (Lloyds Bank Investments)
Broker sentiment showed some shift. Shore Capital downgraded Lloyds to a “sell” from “hold,” setting a 91 pence target. Meanwhile, Barclays lifted its price target to 126 pence and maintained an “overweight” rating, Alliance News reported. (London South East)
In rates trading, sterling hovered around $1.37 Monday ahead of the BoE’s next move. Money markets are betting on one quarter-point rate cut this year, with roughly even odds on a second. “This week we could, for once, have a boring Bank of England meeting,” said Mohamad Al-Saraf of Danske Bank. (Reuters)
But the setup works both ways. If the BoE turns out more dovish than anticipated — or if concerns over UK credit quality rise amid persistently high borrowing costs — bank shares, which have rallied ahead of the meeting, could quickly lose steam.
Investors are also watching Lloyds’ schedule closely, with the bank set to release its annual report and accounts for 2025 on Feb. 18. (Lloydsbankinggroup)
