HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

LONDON (Alliance News) - A weaker pound, troubled by ongoing Brexit drama in Westminster, and a slight rebound for easyJet on Tuesday helped to propel the FTSE 100 to levels not seen in nearly six months.The FTSE 100 index closed up 73.74 points, or 1.0%, at 7,391.12, having hit its best level since early October 2018 of 7,403.56 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.The FTSE 250 ended up 90.51 points, or 0.5%, at 19,329.27, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.01 points, or 0.1%, at 918.35.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 1.0% at 12,549.48, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.4% at 17,296.26, and the Cboe Small Companies ended flat at 11,170.10."Tuesday's clear winner, the FTSE climbed more than 1%, spring-boarding off of the bent back of a Brexit-weary pound to hit 7,400 for the first time in 6 months," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. "All its major sectors were in the green, including a tidy little showing from the banking stocks."Among London's blue-chip banks, Standard Chartered ended up 3.6%, HSBC Holdings up 1.7% and Barclays up 1.3%."Still waiting for the outcome of Theresa May's Cabinet meetings, sterling was down around half a percent against the euro and the dollar, desperate for signs that the UK isn't going to stumble into a no-deal nose dive," Campbell commented.The pound was quoted at USD1.3030 at the London equities close Tuesday, down compared to USD1.3118 at the close on Monday.In a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit, a cross-party group of senior MPs has tabled a bill requiring UK Prime Minister Theresa May to extend the negotiation process beyond April 12.Following the failure of MPs to unite behind an alternative to May's plan on Monday, the group, including Conservative grandee Oliver Letwin and Labour's Yvette Cooper, aims to pass the bill through the Commons on Thursday.The move was announced as May and her senior ministers gathered at 10 Downing Street for an extended crisis session of Cabinet to try to break the Brexit deadlock.Number 10 made clear on Tuesday that exit without agreement in 10 days time remains the legal default unless MPs approve a deal.The latest wrangling in Westminster came as EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned a no-deal departure is becoming "day after day more likely".And, in further bad news for the pound on Wednesday, IHS Markit showed UK construction output continued to contract in March. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index was 49.7 in March, up slightly from 49.5 in February. However, the reading remained below 50, the number which separates expansion from shrinkage in a sector. "Fears that the recent weakness of the UK construction sector may not be just a blip, but a sustained soft patch, were further fuelled by latest data," said IHS Markit economist Joe Hayes.In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended 0.6% higher.Meanwhile, the euro stood at USD1.1187 at the European equities close Tuesday, against USD1.1215 at the same time on Monday.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones down 0.5%, the S&P 500 index down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite sliding 0.2%. The head of the International Monetary Fund warned that global growth is slowing and while there was no immediate concern of a recession, the world's economy is in a "precarious" situation.Speaking in Washington, Christine Lagarde highlighted risks to the economy, including trade tensions, Brexit and high debt. The debt is particularly vulnerable amid financial tightening, though Lagarde noted the "more-patient" approach of the US Federal Reserve."The global economy is at a delicate moment," Lagarde said, noting momentum was lagging even if an expected uptick later this year materializes.In commodities on Tuesday, Brent oil was quoted at USD69.34 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday, up from USD68.72 late Monday.Gold, meanwhile, was quoted at USD1,290.70 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday, broadly unchanged from USD1,291.00 at the close on Monday.On the London Stock Exchange, fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown was helping to push the FTSE 100 higher. Hargreaves closed up 4.2%, the best performer in the index, after Citigroup raised the stock to Neutral from Sell. Meanwhile, low-cost airline easyJet enjoyed a minor rebound after Monday's slump. easyJet shares closed up 2.3% on Tuesday, following a 9.7% dive on Monday after the airline issued a cautious outlook for the second half with Brexit uncertainty weighing on customer demand.In the FTSE 250, fellow airline Wizz Air ended among the best performers, up 4.9%, as it guided to an annual profit towards the top end of management forecasts. The central and eastern Europe-focused flier said it expects its annual net profit for the year ended March to come in towards the upper half of its guidance range of between EUR270 million and EUR300 million. A year ago, Wizz Air's net profit amounted to EUR275 million.This was after fourth quarter trading was in line with expectations amid "robust" demand across the company's key geographical territories, Wizz Air explained. Elsewhere on the Main Market, Superdry shares closed down 7.0% after shareholders narrowly voted to re-elect co-founder and former chief executive Julian Dunkerton to the board. As per votes cast at the meeting, 51.15% of shareholders approved the re-election of Dunkerton as a director of the company, with 48.85% of votes against it.Dunkerton resigned last year amid a catastrophic collapse in the company's share price following a slew of profit warnings from the firm, which led to it being demoted from the FTSE 250. Superdry has struggled to maintain sales for its well-known vibrant hoodies in recent years.A similar result was achieved in respect of the proposed appointment of Peter Williams as a director, with 51.15% in favour and 48.85% against. Williams is currently non-executive chair of online fashion brand boohoo Group.Superdry's board, which had on multiple occasions unanimously recommended shareholders vote against the appointments, said it will "meet immediately" to assist the process of change. The board had previously said that in the event the resolutions were passed, all its directors would either resign or not seek re-election. Struggling womenswear retailer Bonmarche slid 33% to 12p after Edinburgh Woollen Mill tycoon Philip Day tabled a bid for the firm at a mark-down price. The offer, which is wholly unconditional, is priced at 11.445 pence per share, a 34% discount to Bonmarche's GBP8.7 million market value as at Monday's close. Bonmarche shares had closed at 18p on Monday.Spectre, a Dubai-registered company 100% owned by Day, was required to make the bid after acquiring 26.2 million Bonmarche shares and building a majority 52% stake in the retailer. It said the 11.445p price equalled the highest price it paid for Bonmarche shares over the past 12 months.Bonmarche said it is considering the offer and asked its shareholders to take no action in the meantime."Taking the business private and out of the City spotlight would theoretically help the retailer to focus on a recovery plan and not have its every move scrutinised by investors," commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. "Day's career includes buying Peacocks, Austin Reed and Jacques Vert," Mould noted. "His approach is very similar to fellow retail mogul Mike Ashley in that he likes to acquire troubled groups out of administration, or while they are on the knees when trading as a public company."In Wednesday's corporate calendar, there are annual results from roadside rescue firm AA and trading updates from contracts-for-different provider CMC Markets and transport operator Stagecoach.In the economic calendar on Wednesday, the British Retail Consortium's shop price index is out at 0001 BST, followed by a raft of services PMIs. Japan's Markit services PMI is at 0130 BST, while China's is at 0245 BST, Ireland at 0600 BST, France at 0850 BST, Germany at 0855 BST, the eurozone at 0900 BST, the UK at 0930 BST and the US at 1445 BST. Outside of this, eurozone retail sales are at 1000 BST on Wednesday and US MBA mortgage applications at 1200 BST, with ADP employment change - a precursor to the closely-watched nonfarm payrolls due on Friday - at 1315 BST.