What Lloyds Bank needs to hit 76p

Lloyds Bank (LSE:LLOY)

We've stopped thinking of the three UK retail banks as 'clown' shares. Instead, perhaps referring to them as similar to rabbit droppings makes more sense, little balls of stuff which stick together and refuse to roll anywhere.

Royal Bank of Scotland proved amusing last week, creating a 'no-brainer' scenario for a near-term trade, but, alas, has moved back into position beside the other two balls of stuff.

The funny thing, possibly due to RBS's influence (never thought we'd write that) Lloyds Banking Group actually managed to outperform slightly and now exists in a situation where trades above just 67.15p are supposed to generate near-term growth toward 68.89p initially.

While such an ambition isn't exactly exciting, if the share were somehow to trade above 68.89p, it ticks the first box in a series of arguments favouring continued moves toward 73.5p in the foreseeable future.

In fact, if we're honest, it could even prove to be 76.5p.

During 2016, we often waxed lyrical about GaGa movements - GapDown, GapUp - and Lloyds certainly experienced these manipulation movements earlier this year.

We've tended to ignore this signal, 'cos during 2017 this particular manoeuvre has not proven to be a reliable indicator of anything.

For now, if a slowdown is on the cards - relatively unlikely given the state of the FTSE 100 - the share requires to slither below 'red' on the chart at 65.2p to suggest coming weakness toward 63.5p, perhaps even 57p if the market expresses a sense of humour.

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, Shareprice, or Interactive Investor will be responsible for any losses that may be incurred as a result of following a trading idea. 

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