LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Advances As HSBC Shares Jump

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

BAE rises, but AstraZeneca falls

U.K. stocks rose Friday, with a climb in HSBC Holdings PLC as the bank considered ditching the U.K. as its home base, while BAE Systems PLC gained as it considers the sale of some U.S. assets.

But AstraZeneca PLC shares were lower following the pharmaceutical company's financial results.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,070.70, and picked up 1.1% for the week. The British blue-chips index is up 7.7% so far this year.

HSBC: HSBC (HSBC) shares jumped to the top of the FTSE 100, climbing 2.9% after the lender said it's reviewing whether to move its headquarters out of the U.K.

The company, in assessing regulatory and structural reforms enacted after the financial crisis, is looking at "where the best place is for HSBC to be headquartered in this new environment," according to a speech Group Chairman Douglas Flint was to deliver at the bank's annual general meeting in London.

Shares of Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered PLC also rose, by 0.8%, with recent reports that the lender is also considering a move out of the U.K. HSBC itself is the largest bank in Hong Kong.

HSBC's review comes after the U.K. government said it plans to raise the rate of a bank levy to 0.21% from 0.156%. The British finance chief, George Osborne, said in March the move would raise about GBP900 million to support the country's economic recovery after the financial crisis. The levy reportedly cost HSBC GBP750 million last year.

Movers: Elsewhere on the FTSE 100, BAE Systems shares climbed 2.3% as the defense company said it's been approached about a takeover of some of its U.S.-based assets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bae-systems-considers-sale-of-some-us-activities-2015-04-24-24851613). Its U.S. manpower and services business, which largely does work for the U.S. government, is generating "external interest and a number of enquiries", BAE said.

Mining shares were higher, with some benefiting from a rise this week in iron-ore prices. Shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) , the largest iron-ore producers, rose 2.1% and 1.5%, respectively.

But AstraZeneca PLC shares fell 1.7% after the pharmaceutical heavyweight posted a fall in first-quarter revenue and profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazeneca-profit-down-as-sales-of-stalwarts-fade-2015-04-24) as it invests in new drugs. Core net profit fell 7% to $1.37 million, and revenue declined 6% to $6.06 billion.

Shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC turned lower, slipping 0.2%. The consumer-products company said first-quarter revenue rose 1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reckitt-benckiser-revenue-up-1-backs-guidance-2015-04-24) and that it's on track to meet its growth targets for the year. Excluding currency movements, and the impact of mergers and acquisitions, its sales rose 5% from the year-ago period.

Merlin Entertainments PLC shares fell 1.4% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgraded the operator of Legoland and other theme parks to neutral, saying its "strong prospects are now fully valued."

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