FTSE 100 lifted by investors cheering HSBC Canada arm sale

London’s FTSE 100 was boosted today by investors pouring into HSBC after it confirmed it has ditched its Canadian business for £8.4bn.

The capital’s premier index jumped 0.51 per cent to 7,512 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.55 per cent to 19,186.16 points.

Britain’s largest lender HSBC today said it has sold its entire Canadian business consisting of 130 branches and over 780,000 retail and commercial customers to Royal Bank of Canada.

The news sent its shares to near the top of the FTSE 100, gaining 4.44 per cent.

The sale is being seen by analysts as a possible route to appeasing Asian investors led by Chinese insurer Ping An who have been demanding HSBC carve out its Chinese and Hong Kong businesses, the group’s profit engine.

“The recent decision to cancel the dividend after pressure from UK regulators did not go down well with Asia shareholders,” Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said.

The sale could be “an arbiter of things to come,” he added.

Industrial firms also led the FTSE 100 higher after commodity prices rebounded. 

Miners Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta all added more than 2.7 per cent.

Oil giant BP climbed 1.76 per cent and Shell jumped 1.69 per cent.

Commodities had suffered at the beginning of the week after investors fretted over Chinese authorities responding forcefully to protests against snap lockdowns.

The pound was broadly flat against the US dollar. 

UK borrowing costs edged lower.