Jan 27 (Reuters) - Shares in HSBC rose as much as 3% to a new record high on ‌Tuesday, briefly lifting the bank's market ​value above $300  billion and putting it ‍neck-and-neck with AstraZeneca for ⁠the ⁠top spot in London's FTSE 100 ‌index.

By 1050 GMT, ​HSBC shares rose 2.8% to 12.77 pounds, bringing ⁠gains so ‍far ​this year to almost 9% and making it Tuesday's top ‍gainer on the FTSE, which was up around 0.6%.

HSBC, NatWest and other major British banks are set to ​follow ‍their European counterparts in raising profit targets when ​they report earnings in the coming weeks, people close to the matter told Reuters.

The FTSE 350 banking index has risen 6% ​this year, outpacing euro zone peers, which are up 4.2%.