London open: Weak HSBC results keep FTSE flat early on

23rd Feb 2015 08:54

After briefly testing an all-time high on the back of Greece's bailout extension, the FTSE 100 quickly reversed into the red on Monday morning on the back of disappointing results from banking heavyweight HSBC.HSBC's shares were down as much as 5% early on after the global lender reported a drop in profits for 2014."Disappointing numbers and a cautious outlook from HSBC resulted in some strong negative pressure on its share price, also depressing what had been a perky opening for the wider market," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.04% at 6,912.53 in London, having reached a high of 6,943.61 shortly after the open.The index briefly surpassed its all-time closing high of 6,930.20 reached in December 1999, but failed to exceed the intraday record of 6,950.60.The Eurozone approved a four-month extension on Greece's bailout on Friday, two months shorter than requested, subject to Athens submitting details on the reform and budgetary measures it plans to take by Monday.Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivered a triumphant speech following the bailout extension, but warned his country faces "a long and difficult road" ahead. Although Tsipras said his government had "achieved much" by agreeing the deal, it was a move he had previously promised never to make and is viewed by many as the party backing down from its original position.Monday's session is set to be relatively quiet in terms of economic data, with the German IFO business climate index and US existing-home sales being the only major releases of the day.However, analysts at Danske Bank said the focus will remain on Greece today. They said: "The monitoring institutions need to approve the policy programme submitted by the Greek government for the agreement reached on Friday to be effective. We expect it to be approved but probably not until after market close in Europe."HSBC sinks after 2014 resultsHSBC has reported a 17% drop in pre-tax annual profit to $18.68bn, after the lender was hit by fines for its involvement in the foreign exchange rigging scandal. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said 2014 was a "challenging year in which we continued to work hard to improve business performance while managing the impact of a higher operating cost base".Standard Chartered was also trading lower, while peers Barclays, RBS and Lloyds pushed higher.Primark owner and food ingredients group Associated British Foods rose after saying that underlying trading in the first half has been in line with expectations. While profits for the full year are forecast to fall, first-half adjusted earnings should be flat, it said.Chilean copper miner Antofagasta declined despite guiding to lower-than-expected cash costs in 2015 on the back of a weaker Chilean peso and lower oil prices. The wider mining sector was also trading lower, including Fresnillo, Anglo American and BHP Billiton.Distribution group Bunzl impressed with its its full-year results, revealing a 3% increase in pre-tax profit and a 10% hike in the dividend.Housebuilder Bovis Homes hiked its full-year dividend by 159% after a surge in profits in 2014, helped by a record year for legal completions. The group also said that current trading was "robust" with private reservations and selling prices improving, though that wasn't enough to stop the stock falling early on.Market MoverstechMARK 3,150.83 +0.43%FTSE 100 6,912.53 -0.04%FTSE 250 17,128.46 +0.03%FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 79.34p +1.74%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,961.00p +1.71%Pearson (PSON) 1,413.00p +1.58%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,499.00p +1.54%Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,197.00p +1.27%AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,468.50p +1.25%Compass Group (CPG) 1,147.00p +1.15%3i Group (III) 487.50p +1.10%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,142.00p +1.06%Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,068.00p +1.05%FTSE 100 - FallersHSBC Holdings (HSBA) 574.70p -5.04%Fresnillo (FRES) 808.00p -2.30%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,904.00p -2.21%Standard Chartered (STAN) 953.30p -2.08%Anglo American (AAL) 1,222.50p -1.93%Tullow Oil (TLW) 399.50p -1.92%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,556.00p -1.58%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,882.00p -1.52%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,189.00p -1.50%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,521.00p -1.02%FTSE 250 - RisersSmith (DS) (SMDS) 359.30p +3.48%Melrose Industries (MRO) 300.00p +2.15%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 938.00p +1.90%Infinis Energy (INFI) 202.60p +1.81%Man Group (EMG) 191.30p +1.81%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 925.00p +1.76%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,930.00p +1.58%PayPoint (PAY) 883.50p +1.55%Rightmove (RMV) 2,649.00p +1.38%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,530.00p +1.36%FTSE 250 - FallersLadbrokes (LAD) 113.50p -6.97%Soco International (SIA) 277.70p -4.14%Afren (AFR) 9.10p -3.60%IP Group (IPO) 250.00p -3.47%Premier Oil (PMO) 171.40p -3.33%Polymetal International (POLY) 578.50p -3.10%Cranswick (CWK) 1,355.00p -3.01%Allied Minds (ALM) 500.00p -2.91%Alent (ALNT) 340.40p -2.91%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 139.20p -2.86%