HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

The banking and resources sectors were among the best performers on Monday as risk appetite increased on the back of stimulus hopes. Barclays, RBS, ENRC and Xstrata were high risers by mid-afternoon. Global banking group HSBC was along among them after seeing an 11% rise in reported pre-tax profit in the first half to $12.7bn. Electricity and gas provider National Grid edged higher after saying it achieved a "solid operational and financial performance" in its first quarter and is keeping its positive outlook for the full year unchanged. Also on the up was insurance giant Aviva, which looks to be teeing up its US division for a £1bn sale. The Sunday Telegraph has reported the group's Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Regan, has been holed up in the US HQ in Iowa, getting the unit ready for a disposal. Meanwhile, publishing group Pearson was firmly out of favour following Friday's first-half results. Nomura maintained its 'reduce' rating on the stock this morning, saying that organic growth of just 0.6% is "unfeasibly lower" for a 14.4x P/E multiple. Consumer products group Reckitt Benckiser fell after 3.8% organic growth in the first half came short of consensus estimates of 4.2%. Jefferies maintained its 'hold' rating on the stock this morning, saying that there has been "some evidence of margin decline". FTSE 100 - RisersInternational Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 157.60p +4.30%Evraz (EVR) 237.30p +3.85%Barclays (BARC) 172.95p +3.56%Xstrata (XTA) 846.00p +2.79%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 394.60p +2.60%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,499.00p +2.60%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,699.00p +2.41%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 219.60p +2.38%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.90p +2.30%Aviva (AV.) 292.70p +2.20%FTSE 100 - FallersPearson (PSON) 1,194.00p -2.93%Tesco (TSCO) 317.45p -1.11%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 110.50p -0.99%WPP (WPP) 824.50p -0.84%Reed Elsevier (REL) 544.50p -0.73%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,516.00p -0.73%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,111.00p -0.71%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 567.50p -0.70%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 262.50p -0.64%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 870.00p -0.63%NR