Standard Chartered PLC stock closed the week at fresh 2025 highs as buybacks continued and analysts turned more constructive. Here’s what moved STAN shares over the last few days, what forecasts are signaling now, and what investors are watching in the week ahead.
Standard Chartered PLC (LON: STAN) ended Friday’s session (12 December) at 1,727p, up 0.58% on the day, after trading as high as 1,767p. That’s a notable weekly rebound: the shares were 1,634.5p on 5 December, implying a gain of roughly 5.7% week-on-week (based on closing data). [1]
With the market shut today (Saturday, 13 December), this update reflects the latest available close and the most recent company and market headlines from the past several days.
What happened to Standard Chartered’s share price this week?
The tone in STAN has been decisively “risk-on” since the prior Friday dip. Daily closes climbed from 1,656p (Dec 8) to 1,669p (Dec 9), then 1,703.5p (Dec 10), 1,717p (Dec 11) and finally 1,727p (Dec 12). [2]
Hargreaves Lansdown’s market snapshot also shows a new year high at 1,767p, with Friday’s session seeing an intraday high above that (and a quoted market cap around £39.16bn on its data page). [3]
So, what’s fueling the momentum?
Key news driving Standard Chartered stock in the last few days
1) Share buybacks are still providing steady support
Standard Chartered disclosed another on-market repurchase this week as part of its previously announced buyback programme.
In its 12 December regulatory update, the bank said it bought 558,220 ordinary shares on 11 December. The reported price range was 1,701p to 1,730p, with a volume-weighted average price of 1,719.30p. It also stated that, as of the prior close, it had applied about US$919.6 million to share purchases under the programme and intended to cancel the repurchased shares (reducing voting rights accordingly). [4]
Why it matters for STAN shareholders: buybacks can act like a persistent bid in the market, and cancellations mechanically reduce share count—potentially supporting per-share metrics if profitability holds up.
2) Goldman Sachs upgraded Standard Chartered to “Buy” (and lifted its target)
One of the biggest sentiment catalysts this week came from the broker side.
According to an Investing.com report published early 12 December, Goldman Sachs upgraded Standard Chartered to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to £19.65 from £16.70. The note cited improved profitability expectations, including a forecast for underlying return on tangible equity (RoTE) to reach 14.6% by end-2025 (above management guidance), rising further in later years in Goldman’s projections. [5]
Goldman also pointed to valuation: it argued Standard Chartered’s current valuation (described as roughly 1.2x price-to-tangible book) could still leave room for upside if the bank sustains higher profitability and the shares “re-rate.” [6]
This kind of broker move doesn’t “make” a stock rally on its own—but it can change the framing: from “good run, now what?” to “still room to run if the numbers hold.”
3) Legal and regulatory headlines remain in the background (and sometimes the foreground)
Standard Chartered has also been in the news for legal developments—important mostly because they shape long-run risk perception (and occasionally capital outcomes).
Iran sanctions-related investor lawsuit (UK):
Multiple outlets reported that Standard Chartered agreed to settle a £1.5bn investor lawsuit tied to allegations around disclosures relating to Iran sanctions compliance. The Financial Times reported that the settlement terms were not disclosed and that the bank said the resolution was not material to its financial standing while denying liability. [7]
1MDB-related civil case (Singapore):
Separately, Reuters reported in late November that a Singapore court decision cleared the way for a US$2.7bn lawsuit linked to alleged 1MDB fraud-related transactions. Standard Chartered rejected the allegations and said it would appeal. [8]
Investors tend to bucket these as “tail risks.” The market usually shrugs them off—until costs, timelines, or regulatory consequences look large enough to matter.
4) Rate decisions in Standard Chartered’s key markets are moving—sometimes in odd ways
Standard Chartered is globally exposed, and short-term rate moves can change both sentiment and earnings expectations (especially around net interest margin, credit demand, and FX translation).
Hong Kong: Reuters reported that Hong Kong’s de-facto central bank cut its base rate by 25 bps to 4.0% in line with the U.S. Federal Reserve, but major banks—including Standard Chartered—did not cut their best lending rates. Standard Chartered Bank said it would keep its Hong Kong dollar best lending rate unchanged at 5.25%. [9]
This “base rate down, prime unchanged” dynamic is worth watching because it affects pricing power and competitive behaviour in a core market.
5) UK system resilience: Bank of England stress tests cleared
In another supportive headline for the sector, Reuters reported that the Bank of England’s latest stress tests showed the UK’s seven largest lenders—including Standard Chartered—had enough capital to withstand a severe downturn scenario. Reuters noted Standard Chartered and Barclays showed the lowest capital positions after the stress test, but no bank fell below minimum requirements, and the BoE also eased capital requirements from 14% to 13% in its Financial Stability Report. [10]
For Standard Chartered shareholders, “system resilient + potential capital flexibility” is generally read as mildly constructive—especially when paired with ongoing buybacks.
Forecasts and analyst consensus: what the market is saying now
Analyst targets: consensus sits near the current price, but the range is wide
Stockopedia’s consensus snapshot puts the analyst consensus target price at 1,693.6p, which is slightly below the last closing price of 1,727p (as of its page). It also lists a consensus next financial-year EPS forecast of $2.17. [11]
That’s the “average view.” Goldman’s call (with a £19.65 target) is clearly more bullish than that consensus framing. [12]
A practical takeaway: the market’s not starved of optimism, but a chunk of the Street appears to believe a lot of good news is already in the price—unless profitability surprises again.
Management’s own targets: RoTE, income growth, and capital returns are the core scoreboard
Standard Chartered’s December investor materials outline the bank’s targets and where it sees progress:
- Income: targeting 5–7% CAGR (2023–2026) and indicating 2025 growth toward the upper end of that range
- Underlying RoTE: guidance of ~13% in 2025 (noting this was previously guided for 2026), with reported 11.7% for FY’24 and 16.5% for 9M’25 in the same table
- Shareholder distributions: “at least $8bn (2024–2026),” with $6.5bn announced since FY’23 results (split between buybacks and dividends in the document) [13]
Those targets matter because they’re what valuation arguments tend to anchor to. If the bank can sustainably deliver mid-teens RoTE, bulls argue the shares deserve a higher multiple; if RoTE slips back toward low teens (or below), the debate becomes “peak-cycle earnings or durable franchise?”
The bank’s Q3 2025 presentation also flagged a clear timeline for the next major guidance moments: updated 2026 RoTE guidance in February 2026, and medium-term financial expectations in May 2026. [14]
Week ahead (15–19 December 2025): catalysts that could move STAN
Next week’s potential drivers are less about Standard Chartered-specific announcements (unless another headline hits) and more about macro + rates + sentiment, which matter a lot for banks with global balance sheets.
1) UK inflation data (Wednesday, 17 December)
The UK’s inflation release cadence shows the next CPI-related update due on 17 December 2025 (ONS schedule pages indicate the next release date). [15]
Why STAN investors care: UK inflation feeds directly into Bank of England expectations and, by extension, the rate curve that often drives bank stock sentiment—even for internationally weighted lenders.
2) Bank of England rate decision and minutes (Thursday, 18 December)
The BoE is scheduled to publish its Monetary Policy Summary and minutes on 18 December 2025. [16]
A Reuters poll published this week reported economists expecting the BoE to cut by 25 bps to 3.75% on December 18. [17]
Why it matters for Standard Chartered shares: rate cuts can be a mixed bag—supporting growth and credit demand on one hand, while pressuring net interest income on the other. The market reaction often depends on whether the cut is “growth insurance” (bullish) or “uh-oh, slowdown” (bearish).
3) ECB meeting (17–18 December)
The ECB’s calendar shows a monetary policy meeting on 17–18 December 2025, with the press conference on the second day. [18]
Even though Standard Chartered isn’t a eurozone retail bank, big ECB signals can move the euro, the dollar, risk appetite, and European bank multiples—spillovers that often reach FTSE financials.
4) Post-Fed positioning and the global rate complex
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest statement (10 December) said it lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps to 3.5%–3.75%. [19]
Markets will still be digesting what that means for global dollar liquidity, FX, and credit—areas that directly intersect with Standard Chartered’s cross-border model.
5) Watch for continued buyback disclosures
Given the pace of recent repurchases and the routine nature of these updates, investors will likely keep scanning for further buyback transaction notices—less because each one is huge, more because the “drip” confirms ongoing capital return execution. [20]
The bull case vs. bear case for Standard Chartered stock right now
Bull case (why STAN could stay strong):
- Buybacks continue to reduce share count and can support the stock on weak days. [21]
- Broker sentiment is improving, with Goldman explicitly arguing for upside if profitability stays high. [22]
- Management’s own targets and recent progress metrics (including RoTE figures cited in investor materials) underpin the “quality rerating” story. [23]
Bear case (what could hit the shares):
- Legal overhangs don’t vanish—they just change timelines; the 1MDB litigation path and sanctions-related histories can resurface as valuation friction. [24]
- Rate cuts globally can compress banking spreads, and the market can rotate away from financials fast if it smells a downturn. [25]
- After a strong run to new highs, “good news” has to keep arriving to justify further multiple expansion. [26]
Bottom line: Standard Chartered enters the new week with momentum—and a busy macro calendar
Standard Chartered PLC stock heads into the week of 15 December with strong upward momentum, reinforced by ongoing buybacks and a high-profile Goldman Sachs upgrade. [27]
But the week ahead is loaded with potential market movers—UK inflation, the Bank of England decision, and the ECB meeting—all of which can shift the interest-rate narrative that bank stocks trade on. [28]
For STAN specifically, the big near-term question is whether the market keeps treating the story as “durable profitability + capital returns” (rerating fuel), or whether macro and litigation headlines start to cap enthusiasm.
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. stockanalysis.com, 3. www.hl.co.uk, 4. www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, 5. www.investing.com, 6. www.investing.com, 7. www.ft.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.stockopedia.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. www.sc.com, 14. www.sc.com, 15. www.ons.gov.uk, 16. www.bankofengland.co.uk, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.ecb.europa.eu, 19. www.federalreserve.gov, 20. www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, 21. www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, 22. www.investing.com, 23. www.sc.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. stockanalysis.com, 27. stockanalysis.com, 28. www.ecb.europa.eu
