Signs of optimism for Barclays shares

Still not far off multi-year lows, our chartist thinks he might have spotted a catalyst.

Barclays (LSE:BARC) 

It's funny, but Mrs May always struck as the type of person found running a local authority (keen not to rock the boat) but unsuited to run a country.

Now, she's been replaced by someone who used to run a local authority - London. Life is doubtlessly going to become interesting and we're starting to wonder if the banks will benefit.
 Barclays (LSE:BARC) share price has cheerfully wandered through the downtrend for the last year, a movement we suspect was not accidental.

Quite an interesting situation now presents itself as share price growth above 163p calculates as capable of movement to an initial 175p. If bettered, secondary works out at a surprising 193p!

We're a little surprised at this behaviour. The drift through the downward trend removed Barclays, quite neatly, from a zone which has been promising a bottom eventually of 134p.

Or far worse, if such a level broke. The immediate situation calls for a revamp of our thinking as the share requires closure below 158p to give a pretty firm suggestion that some strong growth is not on the cards, anytime soon.

A suspicion exists of the market simply opting to start a new trend, while everyone tries to figure out what the new bloke in the hot seat is going to do next.

Of course, the media will have us believe he also doesn't know from one minute to the next. Hopefully Boris adopts Mr Trump's Twitter habits, entertaining the nation and giving those who seek to be offended plenty to moan about.

For now, some slight optimism exists for Barclays.

Source: Trends and Targets      Past performance is not a guide to future performance

Alistair Strang has led high-profile and "top secret" software projects since the late 1970s and won the original John Logie Baird Award for inventors and innovators. After the financial crash, he wanted to know "how it worked" with a view to mimicking existing trading formulas and predicting what was coming next. His results speak for themselves as he continually refines the methodology.

Alistair Strang is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of Interactive Investor. All correspondence is with Alistair Strang, who for these purposes is deemed a third-party supplier. Buying, selling and investing in shares is not without risk. Market and company movement will affect your performance and you may get back less than you invest. Neither Alistair Strang, or interactive investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea.