Reuters: Hot Stocks: UPDATE 1-HSBC hit pushes down Britain's FTSE 100 index

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UPDATE 1-HSBC hit pushes down Britain's FTSE 100 index Aug 5th 2013, 16:04 Mon Aug 5, 2013 12:04pm EDT * FTSE 100 ends down 0.4 pct at 6,619.58 points * HSBC takes most points off index after H1 profit miss * Second day of losses for FTSE after winning run last week * Return to May highs still possible -Securequity trader (Updates with closing prices, further comment) By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark equity index fell on Monday, pulled down by HSBC after the heavyweight bank's interim profits missed forecasts, giving HSBC shares their worst day in well over a year. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.4 percent, or 28.29 points, at 6,619.58 points. The decline marked its second consecutive fall after a 4-day winning streak last week. HSBC, which is one of the FTSE's biggest stocks by market capitalisation, fell 4.4 percent to take the most points off the index. The stock suffered its worst one-day fall since a 5.8 percent drop in November 2011. Brown Shipley fund manager John Smith said that despite signs of a recovery at part-nationalised banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, his portfolio was "underweight" in UK bank stocks. "There's still too much political interference," said Smith, referring to plans by the UK government to start to sell its stakes in Lloyds and RBS. The FTSE 100 raced to a 13-year high of 6,875.62 points in late May before falling back in June, but the index remains up by around 12 percent since the start of 2013. Securequity sales trader Jawaid Afsar said the market could still rise back towards those May highs, helped by signs of a recovery in the UK economy, with data on Monday showing a boom in British business in July. He said expectations that central banks would not abruptly end economic stimulus measures that have driven a global equity rally this year, would further support stock markets. "If I was pushed, I would say the bias is still to the upside," said Afsar. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ UK services PMI & GDP link.reuters.com/nap74s ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (Additional reporting by David Brett; editing by Stephen Nisbet) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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