Standard Chartered Shares Rise After US DOJ Rejects Sanctions Lawsuit

Standard Chartered's shares surged by around 3.8% following a favorable filing by the U.S. Department of Justice in a long-standing civil litigation case concerning alleged sanctions violations related to Iran. The bank, which had recently faced pressure after a Republican lawmaker called for a probe into its compliance with sanctions, dismissed the allegations as meritless and expressed that the DoJ's filing confirmed the claims were false. This rally helped Standard Chartered recover losses from earlier in the week and made it the top performer on the FTSE 100 index. Other FTSE 100 companies like BP and Shell also benefited from stronger energy prices, while some stocks such as British American Tobacco and Prudential declined. The market context includes cautious anticipation of Federal Reserve Chair Powell's upcoming speech amid mixed economic signals, which influences investor sentiment. Standard Chartered emphasized its confidence in the legal outcome, highlighting the DoJ filing as validation of its position in the legacy Brutus qui tam case.