financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
London stocks score monthly gains; HSBC climbs on upbeat profit
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
London stocks score monthly gains; HSBC climbs on upbeat profit
Apr 30, 2024 9:43 AM

*

HSBC ( HSBC ) led gains on FTSE 100 on upbeat profit, $3 bln

buyback

*

Hargreaves Lansdown climbs on seeing good momentum in

April

*

Prudential slips on lacklustre China JV performance

*

FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.6%

(Updated at 1550 GMT)

By Pranav Kashyap, Sruthi Shankar and Khushi Singh

April 30 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 ended

subdued on Tuesday, as strength in financials following strong

updates from HSBC ( HSBC ) and Hargreaves Lansdown was offset by a

sell-off in metal mining stocks.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 had extended its record rally

for the sixth straight session earlier in the day, hitting an

all-time high of 8,199.95 points. However, the index ended the

session flat.

The midcap FTSE 250 edged 0.6% lower to 19,965.39

points, after having breached the 20,000 mark in the previous

session.

Both indexes marked their second consecutive monthly gain.

Signs of inflation coming under control, a recovering economy,

upbeat corporate results and reasonable prices is attracting

more buyers to Britain.

"There's a fear of missing out as everything has been rising

for so long, and even at the beginning of April, when we did see

a pullback, FTSE held better than its European and U.S.

counterparts," Daniela Hathorn, senior Market analyst at

Capital.com, said.

The banks index added 2.3% as the top

performing sector, led by a 4.1% jump in HSBC Holdings ( HSBC )

shares after the Asia-focused bank announced a

better-than-expected pretax profit, $3 billion worth of share

buybacks and its CEO Noel Quinn's retirement.

Hargreaves Lansdown jumped 3.6%, after the

investment platform saw good momentum in April as clients

invested at the start of the tax year to claim more benefits.

Whitbread ( WTBCF ) rose 3.9% as the Premier Inn owner

announced a 26% increase in its dividend, a share buy-back

programme worth 150 million pounds ($187 million), and plans to

close 238 underperforming restaurants, resulting in 1,500 job

cuts in Britain.

Limiting gains in the blue-chip index, insurer Prudential

fell 5.4% after its annual premium equivalent sales for

CITIC Prudential Life, its Chinese Mainland joint venture,

slumped 17% in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, precious metal miners led sectoral

declines with a 3.4% fall, while industrial metal miners

lost 1.4%, pressured by firmer dollar that makes

metals expensive for overseas buyers.

Global investors now await the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy

decision on Wednesday.

($1 = 0.7993 pounds)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
EMERGING MARKETS-Higher commodities, weaker dollar lift LatAam assets amid Trump policy twists
EMERGING MARKETS-Higher commodities, weaker dollar lift LatAam assets amid Trump policy twists
Jun 2, 2025
* LatAm FX up 0.92%, stocks up 0.69% * Brazil's industrial activity contracts in May * Brazil economists see 2025 inflation at 5.46%, poll shows (Updates with mid-session prices) By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap June 2 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies rose on Monday, with Mexico's peso spearheading the rally as investors leveraged a softening dollar and robust commodity...
TSX Closer: The Index Rebounds To a Fresh Record High as Economists Expect the BoC to Stand Pat on Rates
TSX Closer: The Index Rebounds To a Fresh Record High as Economists Expect the BoC to Stand Pat on Rates
Jun 2, 2025
04:25 PM EDT, 06/02/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed at another record high on Monday following two losing sessions as Canadian investors not only got back into the buying habit again with commodities prices surging as the U.S. dollar weakened following fresh trade threats from President Trump, while economists see less need for another cut from Wednesday's...
Equities Mixed Intraday Amid News of Upcoming Trump-Xi Talks
Equities Mixed Intraday Amid News of Upcoming Trump-Xi Talks
Jun 2, 2025
02:10 PM EDT, 06/02/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday amid a report that President Donald Trump is expected to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, this week amid growing trade tensions between the global economic heavyweights. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% at 42,117.5 after midday Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite rose...
European shares stumble on Trump's new tariff threat
European shares stumble on Trump's new tariff threat
Jun 2, 2025
* Automakers, luxury stocks fall after Trump's new tariff plans * Oil shares up on higher prices * Sanofi strikes deal to acquire Blueprint Medicines ( BPMC ) * Media stocks drop on report Meta to fully automate Ad creation (Updates after markets close) By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur June 2 (Reuters) - European shares began June on a...
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved