TUESDAY MARKET CLOSE: HSBC takes toll on FTSE

Top-flight shares suffered fresh falls, touching three-month lows, with HSBC among the casualties after announcing a shake-up that will see up to 25,000 jobs axed globally including as many as 8,000 in the UK.

The London Stock Exchange building. Picture: Getty

Chief executive Stuart Gulliver revealed the bank will also rebrand its high street operation in the UK as he delivered his keenly-awaited strategy update.

But the overhaul received a lukewarm response in the market, with shares down 1 per cent at 613.7p, while the wider FTSE 100 Index dropped 36.24 points to 6,753.8.

The top tier fell as indices across Europe saw losses, with the Greek debt saga continuing to cast a shadow over markets after the country submitted new reform proposals to its international creditors.

Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG, said: “Each passing day sees equity markets suffer further losses, as investors struggle to find reasons to remain within the asset class.

“It looks as if the rout in developed equities is spreading to emerging markets, with concerns about slowing growth combining with a rising dollar.”

Heavily-weighted miners were also among the fallers on the Footsie as figures showing a fall in Chinese inflation pointed to weak demand in the world’s second biggest economy.

Anglo American fell 20.1p to 985.4p and Rio Tinto was 37.5p lower at 2,781p.

In the FTSE 250, Pets at Home was one of the biggest losers, down 7.2p at 273.8p, as its biggest shareholder Kohlberg Kravis Roberts nearly halved its stake in the group, raising £288 million by selling 108 million shares. Private equity giant KKR has retained 24.6 per cent of the company.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Royal Mail up 11.5p to 511.5p, Mondi up 27p to 1,395p, Intu Properties up 4.7p to 319.8p and Reed Elsevier up 15p to 1,077p.