Barclays first half profit beats forecasts at £6.1 billion

Barclays’ first half profits rose by a ​better than expected 17 per cent as it reaped bumper equities trading revenues from volatile markets, although ‌its shares dropped on Tuesday in a sign of high investor expectations for British banks.

Profit before tax for the January to June period of £6.1 billion ($8.11 billion) was just above forecasts of about £5.94 billion, but Barclays shares fell nearly 5 per cent as analysts ​said its equities performance undershot market expectations boosted by...