HSBC results help index see red as pound rises

LONDON

LONDON’S top flight ended in negative territory yesterday as disappointing results from HSBC helped drag the index into the red.

The FTSE 100 closed down 40.3 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 7,179.17.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC, also pointed to lingering trade tensions that are weighing on equity markets. “THE disappointing results from big hitters HSBC and BHP Billiton have weighed on the British equity benchmark.there are concerns President Trump could trigger a trade war with the EU in relation to the importation of vehicles and auto parts, so some investors are cautious.”

HSBC propped up the bluechip index, closing down 26.6p, or 4%, at 637.1p.

It came after profits at the banking titan missed expectations as a “challenging” fourth quarter was hobbled by uncertainty over the Us-china trade dispute and Brexit. HSBC’S pre-tax profits rose 16% to $19.9 billion (£15.4bn) for 2018 compared with the previous year but fell short of analysts’ estimates of $21.3bn (£16.5bn).

Reported revenue increased 5% to $53.8bn (£41.6bn). ON the FTSE 250, shares in Greggs were on a tear, closing up 179p, or 11.1%, at 1,781p.

The high street chain lifted its 2019 profit outlook after the launch of a controversial vegan sausage roll helped drive a surge in customers. Greggs said trading had been boosted by “extensive publicity” surrounding the product launch injanuary.

The group posted a 9.6% rise in like-for-like sales for the seven weeks to February 16. Total sales rose 14.1%. This compares with a 2.9% hike in like-for-like sales a year earlier, when trading was hit by extreme weather.

In currencies, the pound was trading up 1% versus the US dollar at 1.304 at the London market close. Against the euro, sterling was up 0.7% at 1.150.

The bounce was linked to strong economic data as official figures showed record numbers of people are in work and job vacancies are at their highest level ever. In addition, total average earnings rose by 3.4% in the year to December, the highest for a decade, beating inflation.

The UK’S jobless rate is now 4%, down by 0.3% on a year ago, and the lowest since 1975.

Mild optimism surrounding Brexit was also causing a stir among currency traders.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “With a decent foundation based on the day’s slightly disappointing but still strong UK jobs report, confirmation Theresa May will return to Brussels for a no-frills meeting with Jean-claude Juncker appeared to give the pound the edge.”

In Europe, German’s Dax closed up 0.04% while France’s Cac 40 fell 0.3%.

A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $65, a fall of 0.8%. THE biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Micro Focus up 63.5p at 1,812p, Tui up 26.8p at 852.8p, Coca Cola HBC up 69p at 2,633p, and Carnival up 85p at 4,373p.

THE biggest fallers were HSBC down 26.6p at 637.1p, Rentokil down 9.8p at 344.1p, BAE Systems down 13.2p at 511.6p, and GVC down 15p at 615p.

NEW YORK

STOCKS gained ground yesterday as upbeat results from Walmart boosted investor sentiment and high-level Us-china trade talks resumed .

All three major US equity indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq ending its seventh consecutive day in the black.

Stocks pared their gains late in the session, however, after New York Fed President John Williams was quoted saying a different economic outlook would be necessary for the Federal Reserve to resume its interest rate hikes.

“(Williams) did say (the Fed was) going to be drawing down the balance sheet for some time,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “Perhaps that caused some concern in the markets.”

Consumer discretionary stocks, led by Amazon.com, provided the biggest lift to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, while Walmart Inc headed up the bluechip Dow’s advance.

Walmart reported a betterthan-expected jump in samestore sales during the holiday quarter, sending shares of the world’s largest retailer up 2.2 per cent.

Shares of Freeport Mcmoran jumped 6.6% after Citigroup raised the stock to “buy” from “neutral.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8.07 points to 25,891.32, the S&P 500 gained 4.16 points to 2,779.76 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14.36 pointsto 7,486.77.