{"id":59010,"date":"2026-02-24T00:38:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/standard-chartered-misses-estimates-despite-1-5b-buyback-china-japan-tensions-escalate\/59010\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T00:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:38:30","slug":"standard-chartered-misses-estimates-despite-1-5b-buyback-china-japan-tensions-escalate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/standard-chartered-misses-estimates-despite-1-5b-buyback-china-japan-tensions-escalate\/59010\/","title":{"rendered":"Standard Chartered Misses Estimates Despite $1.5B Buyback; China-Japan Tensions Escalate"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Standard Chartered (<a href=\"\/stock\/STAN\">STAN<\/a>) missed Q4 2025 profit estimates, reporting a pretax profit of $814 million against the $1.1 billion expected by analysts.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>China escalated geopolitical tensions by imposing export controls on 40 Japanese entities, including subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSBHF\">MSBHF<\/a>) and Subaru (<a href=\"\/stock\/FUJHY\">FUJHY<\/a>), citing military ties.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) strengthened to 97.889, while Bitcoin (<a href=\"\/stock\/BTC\">BTC<\/a>) fell below the $63,000 threshold amid shifting risk sentiment.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan\u2019s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama confirmed &quot;tight dialogue&quot; with U.S. Treasury officials regarding potential foreign exchange interventions to stabilize the Yen.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Shanghai rubber futures surged over 4.5%, reflecting tightening supply and increased industrial demand in the Asian market.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Standard Chartered (<a href=\"\/stock\/STAN\">STAN<\/a>) reported a challenging fourth quarter for 2025, with <strong>pretax profit falling to $814 million<\/strong>, significantly below the <strong>$1.1 billion consensus estimate<\/strong>. Adjusted pretax profit also trailed expectations at <strong>$1.24 billion<\/strong> compared to the projected <strong>$1.38 billion<\/strong>. Despite the earnings miss, the bank announced a <strong>$1.5 billion share buyback program<\/strong> and a dividend hike to support shareholder value as it navigates a period of higher impairment and restructuring costs.<\/p>\n<p>Geopolitical friction in East Asia intensified as the Chinese Ministry of Commerce slapped <strong>export controls on 20 Japanese entities<\/strong> involved in military-linked activities. High-profile organizations such as the <strong>Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)<\/strong> and various units of Mitsubishi Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSBHF\">MSBHF<\/a>) were targeted, while another 20 firms, including Subaru (<a href=\"\/stock\/FUJHY\">FUJHY<\/a>), were placed on a <strong>strict watch list<\/strong>. This move follows recent comments from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding potential military responses to a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n<p>In the currency markets, the <strong>U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) climbed 0.20% to 97.889<\/strong>, exerting pressure on risk assets. This dollar strength coincided with a retreat in the cryptocurrency market, as <strong>Bitcoin (<a href=\"\/stock\/BTC\">BTC<\/a>) slipped under the $63,000 level<\/strong>. Investors appear to be rotating toward the greenback as uncertainty grows over global trade policies and the potential for coordinated central bank interventions.<\/p>\n<p>Japan\u2019s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama addressed the volatility, stating that the government is maintaining a <strong>&quot;tight dialogue&quot; with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/strong>. Market participants remain on high alert for a <strong>&quot;rate check&quot;<\/strong> by the New York Fed, a move often viewed as a precursor to direct currency intervention. Katayama emphasized that both nations are working closely to ensure market stability while monitoring the impact of U.S. tariff decisions.<\/p>\n<p>On the corporate and commodity front, <strong>Piper Sandler<\/strong> issued a bullish update for LabCorp (<a href=\"\/stock\/LH\">LH<\/a>), raising its price target to <strong>$300 from $270<\/strong>. Meanwhile, <strong>Fitch Group<\/strong> expanded its footprint in the region with the launch of a new office in <strong>Tokyo<\/strong>, signaling long-term confidence in the Japanese financial sector. In commodities, <strong>Shanghai rubber futures spiked more than 4.5%<\/strong>, driven by a combination of supply chain constraints and a bullish trend in regional manufacturing demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Standard Chartered (STAN) missed Q4 2025 profit estimates, reporting a pretax profit of $814 million against the $1.1 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[17594,1327,3591,3733,4306,5127,7415,8429,10514,17593],"class_list":["post-59010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-rubber-futures","tag-china","tag-forex","tag-bitcoin","tag-dxy","tag-japan","tag-standard-chartered","tag-jaxa","tag-dollar-index","tag-labcorp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}