10:00 PM London – Standard and Chartered Plc net rose 11% and loan impairment charges dropped 60%. Lloyds Banking Group Plc net plunges 78%. Next Plc dropped after it estimated lower than expected earnings.

Allied Irish Banks, plc fell 7.81% to €2.48 after the bank reported half-yearly loss widened 120% to €1.731 billion compared to a loss of €786 million a year ago. Net interest income for the half-year period fell 34% to €851 million from €1.29 billion last year.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC surged 3.39% to 74.31 pence after the financial services provider reported half-year statutory pre-tax profit plummeted 78.2% to £1.30 billion from £5.95 billion in the prior-year period.

On a combined business basis, the company reported a pre-tax profit of £1.60 billion, as against a loss of £3.96 billion in the comparable period. On a per share basis, earnings plummeted to 0.9 pence from 22.0 pence a year ago.

Next plc slumped 7.91% to 2,025.00 pence after the retailer said that the group profit before tax for the full year would be in the range of £535 million to £560 million.

Standard Chartered Plc declined 4.70% to 1,813.00 pence after the holding company stated six-month pre-tax profit increased 10% to $3.12 billion from $2.84 billion last year.

Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 11% to $2.14 billion from $1.93 billion in the same period last year. On a per share basis, earnings advanced to 101.9 cents from 98.0 cents. Loan impairment losses plunged 60% to $437 million from $1.09 billion.