stocks, news, data and profits

HSBC Shares are off to a strong start this week and are currently trading at a 17-year high on an intraday basis.

The lender’s London-listed A shares rose to £8.286 after the market opened, its highest level since November 2, 2007.

And it’s not the only bank to hit record highs this morning.

United Kingdom FTSE100 and Germany DAX indices were slightly higher on Monday morning, after reaching an all-time high on Friday.

The FTSE was up 0.08%, the DAX was up 0.04% in green and French CAC was up 0.1%.

Spain Ibex was also slightly higher, but that of Italy Mib FTSE fell 0.36% as of 10:16 a.m. London time.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.04%.

-Ganesh Rao

Scientific judgesa conglomerate owning several U.K.-based scientific instrument makers, reported an annual decline in revenue in 2024 in a trading update released Monday.

The company said its organic revenue fell 5.8% in 2024 from the previous year.

Founded in 2002 by CEO David Cicurel, the company now has a significant retail investor after increasing its dividend payout every year for the past 17 years.

“The company’s operating leverage means that the slight decline in organic revenue has a material impact on profitability,” the company said in a stock exchange filing. It is expected to reveal its annual results on March 19.

“Other headwinds affected our business to varying degrees, including a sharp reduction in orders from China, as well as general weakness in order intake and the delay of some customers in their orders and deliveries,” added the company.

Analysts at investment bank Jefferies had downgraded the stock to “Hold” before the filing, saying they saw “clear near-term vulnerability due to the challenging trading environment.”

“From a longer-term perspective, we continue to view Judges as one of the highest quality names in our coverage – the unique operating model and strategy has resulted in sector leadership across a range of financial metrics, which is expected to continue as end markets recover – and there is ample opportunity for a continued stream of attractive M&A,” added the Jefferies analysts.

-Ganesh Rao

South Korea’s Finance Ministry pledged to provide a record 360 trillion won ($247.74 billion) in financial support to its exporters as Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term as president .

The ministry also announced that it will increase its support for foreign exchange insurance to 1.4 trillion won this year, from 1.2 trillion won in 2024.

The press release adds that semiconductors and rechargeable batteries are among the sectors most threatened by possible new American policies.

-Lee Ying Shan

China left its key rates unchanged on Monday, as Beijing faces a weakened yuan while awaiting political indications from the new administration of Donald Trump.

The People’s Bank of China maintained the 1-year prime loan rate at 3.1% and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%, according to the People’s Bank of China statement.

The 1-year LPR determines rates on business loans and most household loans, while the 5-year LPR serves as a benchmark for mortgages.

Read the full story here.

-Anniek Bao

European markets are expected to open in mixed territory on Monday.

United Kingdom FTSE100 index expected to open 12 points lower at 8,493, according to German index DAX up 3 points to 20,897, the CAC up 6 points to 7,720 and that of Italy MIB FTSE up 21 points to 36,351, according to IG data.

There are no major results or data releases on Monday.

—Houx Ellyatt