HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

- German ZEW reaches highest level in over a year- Spain to accept Eurogroup's fiscal consolidation request- Miners, banks lead the rise on the FootsieStocks were extending gains by lunchtime after a German confidence survey smashed expectations. Meanwhile, US stock futures are pointing to a positive start on Wall Street ahead of the results of the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).The German economic expectations index compiled by ZEW rose in March to its highest level since June 2010. The index rose to 22.3 from 5.4 in February compared to the consensus estimate of 10. The better-than-expected outcome sent most European bourses to their intraday highs after the announcement."Currently, it seems as if the crisis in the Eurozone has taken a pause for breath. In Germany, due to the good employment situation, domestic demand is likely to continue to stimulate growth. Nevertheless, risks remain due to the low business activity in important European countries and the disruptions in the banking sector," said ZEW president Wolfgang Franz.Elsewhere in the Eurozone, finance ministers yesterday told Spain to bring its deficit-to-GDP target down by a further 0.5 percentage points to 5.3%. The 2013 target is 3%. There are reports this morning that the majority of the Spanish government has accepted the Eurogroup's request.Meanwhile, Moody's has downgraded Cyprus's credit rating from Baa3 to Ba1, or junk status, with a negative outlook as a result of the Greek debt-swap. In other news, the Bank of Japan increased its asset purchasing programme from 10trn yen to 12trn yen but maintained its policy rate at a range of 0-01%. VEDANTA CONTINUES TO RISEVedanta Resources was heading the risers at midday, up 4%, adding to its winning streak in the year-to-date - the stock has gained around 50% in 2012 so far. Sector peers Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys were also rising higher.Bucking the trend was Antofagasta which was the heaviest faller on the FTSE 100 after its full-year results. Antofagasta boasted of another year of record revenues, profits and output in 2011 but the market was largely unimpressed by the figures from the Chilean copper miner which parted company earlier this month with its Chief Executive Officer.Security group G4S also fell after unadjusted profits slipped in 2011. Profit before tax tumbled to £279m from £335m. Turnover rose 4.7% but missed forecasts. In contrast, the full-year results from insurance peers Standard Life and Prudential were taken much better by investors: Standard Life delivered an increase in operating profits and cash flow in 2011 against an uncertain economic backdrop; while Prudent met forecasts with a 7% rise in operating profit, driven by strong growth in its Asian division.Banks were performing well, as risk appetite increases on the back of an improved outlook for the Eurozone. Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered were all at least 2% higher by midday.Investors in engineering group Weir seemed to be happy with the company's decision to walk away from talks with Australian mining equipment firm Ludowici. FTSE 250: INCHCAPE LEADS THE WAYThe car retailer and distributor, Inchcape, saw sales in 2011 hit by weak markets in the UK and Greece but managed to raise its operating margin through tight cost control. Despite sales falling by 1% year-on-year, shares were up over 6% by lunchtime.Meanwhile, house builders were performing well. Credit Suisse published a research report this morning entitled 'Buy on NewBuy', saying that if just a small fraction of the 100,000 new home builds targeted (as part of the government's scheme) were to be built, it would have a material (positive) impact on 2012-2013 EPS targets for the house building industry. With the broker expecting average EPS growth of around 40% for the sector over the next two years, Bellway, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes and Barratt Developments are all making decent gainsSatellite group Inmarsat was a heavy faller after Citi downgraded the sock from neutral to sell.BCFTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,429.00p +4.38%GKN (GKN) 217.20p +2.94%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 26.01p +2.52%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 167.30p +2.51%IMI (IMI) 1,014.00p +2.48%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 569.20p +2.36%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,530.00p +2.30%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,599.00p +2.27%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,985.00p +2.27%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.41p +2.21%FTSE 100 - FallersAntofagasta (ANTO) 1,224.00p -3.62%G4S (GFS) 284.50p -1.73%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,232.00p -0.53%Diageo (DGE) 1,546.00p -0.45%ITV (ITV) 86.70p -0.34%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,689.00p -0.24%Hammerson (HMSO) 423.80p -0.02%Pearson (PSON) 1,219.00p 0.00%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,008.00p 0.00%National Grid (NG.) 654.50p 0.00%FTSE 250 - RisersInchcape (INCH) 402.30p +6.74%Carpetright (CPR) 638.00p +5.37%Soco International (SIA) 327.90p +5.10%3i Group (III) 206.00p +4.89%Debenhams (DEB) 74.60p +4.70%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 148.00p +4.37%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 52.05p +4.18%Home Retail Group (HOME) 108.90p +4.11%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 272.30p +4.05%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 14.94p +4.04%FTSE 250 - FallersInmarsat (ISAT) 465.00p -2.70%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 455.10p -2.42%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.75 -2.08%Northgate (NTG) 239.90p -2.08%Cobham (COB) 217.50p -1.41%COLT Group SA (COLT) 99.45p -0.95%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 51.30p -0.87%De La Rue (DLAR) 953.00p -0.78%Senior (SNR) 190.00p -0.78%Interserve (IRV) 295.70p -0.77%