HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

- Spain sells more than target in debt auction- Greek talks ongoing- Consumer confidence fallsThe Footsie extended gains by midday, with the banks performing well, with euro optimism giving a boost to sentiment.The Spanish Treasury has this morning sold €6.61bn in long-term debt, well above the maximum target of €4.5bn, with the bid-to-cover ratios having risen strongly.Meanwhile, a source from the Greek finance ministry, who told French news agency Agence France-Presse that a positive result from discussions between the government and private creditors is expected by this weekend. The debt auction in France, whose AAA rating was recently downgraded by Standard & Poor's, will be closely watched. In other news, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has said that European leaders' moves to create a 'fiscal compact' are a "breakthrough". Speaking at an avert in Abu Dhabi, he said "It is now important to swiftly implement all of those decisions to put the euro-area economy back on course." Closer to home, Nationwide's consumer confidence index for the month of December slipped to 38 points, from 40 the month before. That is the second lowest level on record since the survey started in 2004. The main factor behind the retreat was a drop in households' expectations for the first half of the year. The consumer expectations sub-index fell to the 50 point mark, from 55 in November. Nevertheless, analysts at Barclays Capital said this morning that inflation appears to be on a "clear downward trend", easing pressures on households. "We expect the outlook for consumers to stabilise in coming months, barring further downside news, and as a result we think that consumer confidence is probably at or close to its trough." BANKS LEAD THE RISEBankings stocks were providing a lift at midday with Barclays, RBS, Lloyds and HSBC among the best performers. Essar Energy was the heaviest faller though, dropping nearly 8% as it continues to be hampered by problems in India, with its oil division being told on Tuesday that it s no longer eligible to benefit from a deferred tax payment scheme.Drugs giant AstraZeneca was out of favour after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it wants more clinical data on its dapagliflozin treatment for type 2 diabetes in adults to assess the "benefit-risk" profile of the drug. Drinks firm SABMiller was flat after saying that it continues to struggle in Europe and North America, which held back lager volume growth to 3% in the third quarter. Publishing group Pearson was lower despite upping its earnings guidance for 2011. Nomura said this morning that it expects organic growth rates to be less than 1% and flat in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The broker maintained its negative view on the stock, noting that the valuation is high at a price-to-earnings (FY12E) multiple of 14.6.Meanwhile, Sainsbury was among the fallers after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock. ON THE FTSE 250...Despite dropping as much 10% in early trading, FTSE 250 electrical retailer KESA was only 2% lower by lunchtime after revealing that its Comet division, which it is in the process of offloading, saw revenues in the third quarter fall 15% as poor trading in the peak Boxing Day-to-New Year period offset a improving trend pre-Christmas. Sector peer Dixons was the best performer though on the mid-cap index, jumping over 12%.Talvivaara, the Finland-focused nickel and zinc miner, has this morning been notified by the European Commission of a 'positive opinion' on its uranium recovery processes, which in effect certifies that the company meets the mandated safeguards for supply security of nuclear fuel. Shares jumped over 8%.High street betting shop chain WIlliam Hill was a high riser after saying it expects full-year net revenue to be 6% higher in the 52 weeks ended December 27th, helped by online sales which jumped 28% year-on-year.FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 214.50p +6.66%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 26.05p +4.87%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.95p +4.58%Evraz (EVR) 431.80p +3.77%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,090.00p +3.21%Wolseley (WOS) 2,249.00p +3.17%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 531.60p +3.10%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,534.00p +3.02%Aviva (AV.) 334.70p +2.98%Man Group (EMG) 117.70p +2.88%FTSE 100 - FallersEssar Energy (ESSR) 125.70p -7.71%Pearson (PSON) 1,206.00p -3.21%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,104.00p -3.16%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 677.00p -1.81%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,063.00p -1.56%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,919.00p -1.47%SSE (SSE) 1,229.00p -1.44%United Utilities Group (UU.) 599.00p -1.40%International Power (IPR) 327.90p -1.23%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 283.20p -1.12%FTSE 250 - RisersDixons Retail (DXNS) 13.34p +12.48%International Personal Finance (IPF) 181.40p +8.75%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 367.20p +8.32%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 49.36p +7.05%Bodycote (BOY) 313.40p +5.99%William Hill (WMH) 221.60p +5.67%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 165.90p +5.00%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 192.60p +4.67%Ashtead Group (AHT) 231.70p +4.56%Spectris (SXS) 1,577.00p +4.44%FTSE 250 - FallersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 224.20p -2.48%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 123.00p -2.23%Fenner (FENR) 451.70p -2.23%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 76.35p -1.99%Interserve (IRV) 314.50p -1.69%Pennon Group (PNN) 689.00p -1.36%Premier Oil (PMO) 412.90p -1.34%SDL (SDL) 695.50p -1.21%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 467.00p -1.00%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 40.60p -0.95%