HSBC Holdings Reports Falling Profits, But Stock Ticks Up

HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) (LON:HSBA) is up about 1% in trading today despite reporting falling profits that came in short of consensus for 1H14. Profit before taxes was $5.6 billion compared to the $6.2 billion Bloomberg consensus as falling net interest margins (NIM) and exposure to global markets took their toll. HSBC stock is the second best performing among major UK bank’s YTD behind Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS) (LON:RBS). “Trading on 1.3x 2014/15e tNAV, HSBC continues to enjoy a premium rating relative to UK peers, yet we do not currently expect it to achieve a RoE>CoE…