The UK’s FTSE 100 surged to a new record high of 9,727 points on Tuesday, boosted by a rally in HSBC shares.
The banking giant raised its income outlook and pledged to accelerate growth following its planned takeover of Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong.
HSBC’s shares have risen by 3.96% after it reported underlying pre-tax profit of $9.1 billion, up 3% year-on-year, on revenue of $17.9bn.
That came despite a $1.1bn provision linked to the Bernard Madoff securities fraud, which dragged headline profit down 14% to $7.3bn.
Investors were encouraged by the improved underlying performance and upgraded full-year returns guidance, helping to propel the blue-chip index to fresh highs.
The FTSE 100’s record run comes on the same day in which the FTSE 250 dipped as far as 0.4% as mid-cap names lagged in a mixed session.
However, it is now only 0.1% down at 22,486 points – less than 2,000 points off its peak.
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