JPMorgan: Raise target prices for HSBC and Standard Chartered, expecting the trend of outperforming the market to continue.

JPMorgan released a research report stating that the stock prices of HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered Group have increased by 29% and 26% respectively in the past three months, outperforming the Hang Seng Index by approximately 26 and 23 percentage points. JPMorgan expects that the trend of outperforming the market will continue, driven by the growth of book value, dividends, and share buybacks, forecasting annual returns for HSBC and Standard Chartered to be 12% and 15% respectively. JPMorgan believes that the stable interest rate outlook has increased investors' confidence in the sustainable tangible equity return rates of the two banks, predicting that the normalized ROTE of HSBC and Standard Chartered from 2025 to 2027 can expand by 48 and 32 basis points respectively. They also expect that both banks have the potential for further valuation reassessment, and the upcoming announcement of last year's fourth quarter performance could be a short-term catalyst. Currently, they expect stable revenue growth for both banks, with HSBC achieving flat adjusted standardized profits, while Standard Chartered records double-digit growth. JPMorgan has raised the target price for HSBC from HK$138 to HK$165, and for Standard Chartered from HK$190 to HK$265, both reiterating their "overweight" rating. They prefer Standard Chartered due to its higher potential for growth and valuation reassessment.