The UK headquarters of global banking giant HSBC in London. HSBC yesterday announced a 22% rise in half-year net profits to $10.28bn (€7.73bn) on lower costs and falling bad-debt charges. Shares in HSBC finished 4.37% lower to close at 721.7 pence.

 

AFP/London

 

European stocks ended yesterday’s session in mixed mode as markets digested positive eurozone data amid a drop in retail sales and weaker-than-expected profits at global banking giant HSBC, dealers said.

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 0.43% to end at 6,619.58 points and Frankfurt’s Dax 30 slipped 0.1% to 8,398.38 points.

The Cac 40 in Paris finished 0.11% higher, meanwhile, at 4,049.97 points.

In yesterday’s foreign exchange trading, the euro slipped to $1.3257 from $1.3279 late in New York on Friday. The dollar dropped to ¥98.60 from ¥98.89.

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell back to $1,304.75 an ounce from $1,309.25 on Friday.

The eurozone recession seems to be fading out at last, with key growth indicators giving a surprisingly strong showing, economics experts said yesterday.

A key leading indicator of activity, the Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index for July switched to give a growth reading for the first time for 18 months.

But eurozone retail sales, a key indicator of demand in the economy, slipped by 0.5% in June from the previous month, official data showed yesterday.

On the corporate front, shares in HSBC finished 4.37% lower to close at 721.7 pence after half-year net profits at Europe’s biggest bank came in below expectations.

Profit after tax jumped to $10.28bn (€7.73bn) in the six months to the end of June compared with the first half of 2012 on lower costs and bad-debt charges, the British lender said in an earnings statement.

The result came in slightly below analysts’ consensus forecast of profit after tax totalling $10.52bn, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.

Meanwhile in France, utilities group Veolia Environnement reported a six-month profits slump to just €4mn owing to provisions and warned that its activities in China were slowing.

However, shares in the group which provides water and waste management services in many countries rose by 3.41% to €10.62 as the company held to its targets to cut costs and debt this year.

In midday trading on Wall Street, US stocks were lower as investors adjusted to a lighter economic calendar following the busy pace of recent weeks that pushed the Dow and S&P 500 to record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13% to 15,607,67 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.14% to 1,707.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.03% to 3,688.53.

Last week, Wall Street closed at record highs despite the job figures indicating that growth remains sluggish.