The lender posted a 28% on-year increase in pretax profit as clients sought to hedge risk and reposition portfolios, boosting trading activity .

Barclays' first-half profit rose by a better-than-expected 23%, the British bank said on Tuesday, as its markets business reaped bumper returns from the frenzied trading activity sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

Barclays Plc is buying back a further £1 billion ($1.3 billion) worth of shares after its traders turned in a better-than-expected quarter.