HSBC to launch $1bn buyback

Good morning,

HSBC has revealed a bumper buyback, even as the FTSE 100 bank missed its third quarter revenue expectations.

And there’s deepening trouble for London’s property market, with 85 per cent of homes in the capital and the south east losing value - according to Zoopla data. Declining house prices are prompting growing calls to cut stamp duty at the Budget tomorrow.

So, here’s everything you need to know this morning. We’ll be back in your inbox at noon with Midday Markets.

Matt

The FTSE 100 bank said it would return $1bn to shareholders through a buyback programme after it scored a $9.63bn profit for the quarter. This was broadly in line with the consensus expectations of $9.69bn.

But revenue missed the mark after HSBC reported $18.6bn for the period, below the forecast of $18.9bn. The over $300m miss followed underperformance in banking net interest income, which delivered about $11.6bn, some $247m below expectations.

It’s Tuesday morning and London’s blue-chip index is set to slide this morning following the price of oil remaining stubbornly elevated and a surge in tech stocks on the Anthropic news.

Brent crude was trading above $115 per barrel as renewed diplomatic efforts in the Middle East raised hopes of preventing a wider escalation of the US-Iran conflict.

Across the capital and the south east of England, 85 per cent of homes have fallen in the last year, according to property portal Zoopla, compared to 35 per cent in the UK as a whole. 

London’s property market has borne the brunt of rising mortgage costs and falling demand for homes since the Iran war, as housebuilders urge the government to boost affordability. 

Shop prices rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to October, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium, ahead of September’s 1.4 per cent and the three-month average of 1.6 per cent. 

Retailers have said the long-feared spike in inflation caused by the Iran war’s knock-on effects on energy and supply costs is beginning to take hold. 

The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street felt like the dream that could never come true, but this morning the first phase of the mayor’s transformation project began. Anna Moloney rushed to Selfridges to soak up the first day atmosphere.

Geoffrey Howe sipped a gin and tonic, Nigel Lawson quaffed a wine spritzer, while George Osborne and Gordon Brown stuck to mineral water. Ahead of his first Budget, one of the many decisions weighing on Chancellor John Healey’s mind will be whether to get a little squiffy at the despatch box.

But what will his fiscal statement mean for pubs and the broader hospitality sector?

Simon Massie-Taylor will embark on a Stateside schmooze next month in a bid to drum up investment into the English game, City AM understands.

The chief executive is set to use the break in play provided by November’s international schedule to head to the United States, just weeks after holding talks with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom about a formal marketing collaboration.

Would you like to advertise with us or become a sponsor? Please reach out to: [email protected]