Citigroup shares gain for a fourth session in a row on Friday, bank applies for broker-dealer license in France

According to a Friday statement by James Cowles, Citigroup Incs (C) Chief Executive Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the group has applied for a broker-dealer license in France, as Britain prepares to part ways with the EU.

Citigroup shares closed higher for a fourth consecutive trading session on Friday. The stock edged up 0.12% ($0.09) to $72.74, after touching an intraday high at $72.90, or a price level not seen since September 27th ($72.97). In the week ended on October 1st the shares of the financial group added 1.88% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a third consecutive period of gains. Yet, it has been the smallest increase since the week ended on September 3rd. The stock has advanced 6.92% in September, which marked the best monthly performance since June. For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed financial holding company gained 14.84%. The stock has risen 22.40% so far in 2017.

“The most obvious option was to convert our German branch into an investment company. It was already sufficiently capitalized and we have more than 300 people there. But we have also started applying for a broker-dealer license in France”, James Cowles said in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos, cited by Reuters.

In July, the Wall Street bank announced it intended to base its EU trading operations in Frankfurt, while adding 150 new jobs within the bloc.

According to Cowles, no more than 100 to 200 job positions would be affected by Brexit, while those jobs would be relocated to one of Citis seven major areas of operation on the European continent, including Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris and Milan.

At present, about 160 people are already employed by the bank in Paris where investment banking operations such as mergers and acquisitions as well as capital market transactions are conducted.

According to CNN Money, the 29 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Citigroup Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $75.00, with a high estimate of $90.00 and a low estimate of $55.00. The median estimate is a 3.11% surge compared to the closing price of $72.74 on September 29th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 31 surveyed investment analysts had rated Citigroup Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 13 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Citigroup stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $72.79
R2 – $72.84
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $72.89
R4 (Long Breakout) – $73.04
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $73.21
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $73.28

S1 – $72.69
S2 – $72.64
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $72.59
S4 (Short Breakout) – $72.44
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $72.27
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $72.20

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Citigroup Inc (C) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $72.01
R1 – $73.70
R2 – $74.66
R3 – $76.35
R4 – $78.04

S1 – $71.05
S2 – $69.36
S3 – $68.40
S4 – $67.44