FTSE 100 Edges Lower As Earnings Disappoint
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks traded lower on Wednesday as HSBC Holdings reported a plunge in fourth-quarter profit after a charge on Chinese bank stake.
In economic releases, Britain registered budget surplus in January, which was the largest since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics reported.
Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks was in surplus by GBP 16.7 billion in January. This was a GBP 9.2 billion larger surplus than in the same period last year and the biggest on record.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 57 points, or 0.7 percent, at 7,662 after slipping 0.1 percent on Tuesday.
HSBC shares plummeted nearly 7 percent.
Mining giant Rio Tinto lost about 2 percent after reporting a dip in profits over the year, as expected.
Glencore slumped 5.8 percent after posting a steep drop in annual profit. Barclays rose about 2 percent on share buyback news.
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