HSBC Holdings plc (LON: HSBA) spent Tuesday, 18 November 2025 in the red, even as a flurry of boardroom, capital-markets and trading headlines kept the FTSE 100 banking giant firmly in the spotlight.
HSBC share price today: HSBA retreats from recent highs
As of the London close on 18 November 2025, HSBC shares ended around 1,062p, down roughly 2.9% on the day from Monday’s close at 1,093.4p. The stock traded between about 1,060p and 1,079p during the session, extending a pullback from last week’s near record levels. [1]
Despite today’s dip, the broader picture remains strong:
- 52-week range: roughly 698.7p – 1,126p, placing the current price close to the top of its one-year trading band. [2]
- Market capitalisation: about £182bn, underlining HSBC’s status as one of the heaviest hitters on the FTSE 100. [3]
- Valuation: a trailing P/E ratio near 11.5 and a dividend yield around 4.8%, after the bank confirmed a third interim dividend for 2025 of $0.10 per share. [4]
For context, HSBC shares are still up strongly over the past year, gaining more than 50% as rising rates, a big Hong Kong acquisition and aggressive buybacks have powered earnings and investor enthusiasm. [5]
Boardroom battle: HSBC chair succession tensions surface
The most eye-catching narrative for HSBC investors today is unfolding in the boardroom rather than on the trading floor.
In May, HSBC announced that Group Chairman Mark Tucker will step down by the end of 2025, triggering a formal process to appoint his successor. [6]
New reports on 18 November indicate that HSBC’s board is divided over the shortlist, as it tries to decide who should progress as a leading candidate to become the next chair of Europe’s largest bank by assets. [7]
Key points emerging from recent coverage:
- The nomination process is said to be contentious, with no clear consensus yet on the preferred candidate. [8]
- Separate reporting over the weekend suggested that former UK chancellor George Osborne is among those approached about the role, alongside other financial heavyweights such as Naguib Kheraj and Kevin Sneader. [9]
- Brendan Nelson is currently acting as interim chairman while the search continues. [10]
For shareholders, the chair appointment matters because the next incumbent will help steer strategy through:
- integration of major Asian deals, including the planned buyout of minority investors in Hang Seng Bank, [11]
- the tail end of the current rate-hike cycle in the UK and Hong Kong, and
- ongoing debates about capital rules, climate commitments and the bank’s global footprint.
The uncertainty is unlikely to change the day-to-day operations of the bank, but it can affect market perception of governance stability, which often feeds into valuation multiples.
Capital markets focus: HSBC leads on Sharjah sukuk stabilisation
On the capital-markets side, HSBC’s investment bank was in the news this morning for its role in a sovereign-linked sukuk offering.
A pre-stabilisation notice published today confirms that HSBC Bank plc is acting as Stabilisation Coordinator for fixed-rate 10.5-year securities issued by Sharjah Sukuk Programme Limited, guaranteed by the Government of the Emirate of Sharjah. [12]
Highlights from the announcement:
- Stabilisation activities related to the sukuk may commence on 18 November 2025 and could continue until 24 December 2025. [13]
- The deal is described as a USD benchmark-sized issuance, with the final offer price to be determined. [14]
This kind of mandate reinforces HSBC’s established position in Gulf sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt markets and underscores the bank’s strategy of deepening ties with high-growth regions, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.
Trading flows: bullish Hong Kong block trade draws attention
While the London-listed HSBA shares drifted lower, HSBC’s Hong Kong-traded stock (00005.HK) saw a notable block trade.
Market data today show a bullish block trade of 59,600 shares executed at HK$109.30 during the afternoon session, with total turnover of about HK$6.51m. The transaction took place at roughly 2:55 p.m. local time amid a volatile intraday pattern. [15]
Block trades of this size are relatively small compared with HSBC’s overall daily volume, but they can still hint at institutional interest or portfolio rebalancing rather than retail activity. The price level – near recent highs – suggests at least some larger investors are comfortable adding exposure even after the big run-up in 2025.
Institutional positioning: Creative Planning increases HSBC stake
On the institutional side, a fresh 13F disclosure published today in the US pointed to growing interest from professional money managers.
Creative Planning, a large US-based wealth and asset manager, raised its position in HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HSBC) by about 4.8% in the second quarter. According to the filing, the firm now owns 313,074 shares, after purchasing an additional 14,368 shares during the period. [16]
While the filing refers to the New York-listed ADR, it adds to the picture of broad international demand for HSBC equity. For UK investors, such data points can be read as a signal that global institutions continue to see value in the group’s earnings profile and dividend stream.
ETFs and passive flows: NAV update for HSBC MSCI World Value ETF
Another, more indirect angle is HSBC’s growing asset-management and ETF franchise.
A regulatory news service (RNS) update today confirmed the net asset value for the HSBC MSCI World Value Screened UCITS ETF, a fund that tracks a global value-stock index. For the 17 November 2025 valuation date, the ETF reported: [17]
- NAV: about $267.8m
- NAV per share: just under $24.65
- Shares in issue: roughly 10.86m
While this ETF is separate from HSBC’s own equity, continued growth in value-themed passive products can support HSBC’s fee income and brand visibility in global equity investing – another contributor to group profitability beyond traditional lending.
Fundamentals: earnings, buybacks and the Madoff provision
Behind today’s headlines, the key fundamental reference point for HSBC remains its Q3 2025 results, published at the end of October.
In that release, the bank reported: [18]
- 9M 2025 reported profit before tax:$23.1bn, down around $6.9bn year-on-year, largely due to an $8.2bn negative impact linked to a Luxembourg court ruling in the Madoff case and related factors.
- A $1.1bn provision taken in connection with that ruling, booked in Q3. [19]
- Confirmation of a third interim dividend of $0.10 per share for 2025.
- Completion of a $3bn share buyback on 24 October 2025. [20]
- Updated guidance for banking net interest income (NII) of $43bn or better for 2025 and continued confidence in delivering mid-teens return on tangible equity (RoTE) into 2026–27. [21]
In the UK retail and wealth business, HSBC has also been tweaking its mortgage offering. Recent reports show the bank introducing a maximum loan-to-income ratio of up to 6.5x annual income for its Premier customers – a sign of competition in higher-end mortgage lending despite a slower housing market. [22]
Taken together, this leaves HSBC positioned as a high-yield, moderately valued play on global rates and Asian growth – though not without legal and regulatory overhangs.
Macro and regulatory backdrop: UK rates, tax and climate scrutiny
Several broader themes are shaping sentiment around UK-listed banks like HSBC:
- The Bank of England kept its base rate at 4% at the November meeting, with a narrow 5–4 vote and a minority favouring a 25bp cut – highlighting the knife-edge balance between sticky inflation and weak growth. [23]
- Ahead of the UK Budget, analysts have flagged the risk of a higher banking surcharge, which could shave around 1% off HSBC’s earnings per share in a worst-case scenario, although recent signals suggest banks might avoid the harshest tax hikes. [24]
- UK banks – including HSBC – are lobbying for easing of capital rules to compete more effectively with private credit and US rivals, a topic raised at a recent House of Lords committee hearing. [25]
- On climate, a Bank of England executive recently stressed that UK banks remain committed to net-zero goals even after HSBC and others left the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, keeping sustainability firmly in the regulatory conversation. [26]
For HSBC shareholders, these issues feed into the medium-term earnings trajectory, capital requirements and the bank’s ability to keep funding generous dividends and buybacks.
What today’s news means for HSBC investors
Put together, the 18 November 2025 news flow around HSBC can be summarised as follows:
- Share price: a notable but not dramatic pullback after a powerful rally, keeping HSBC near the upper end of its 12-month range. [27]
- Governance: elevated noise around the chair succession, which could influence strategic tone and investor confidence but does not, so far, point to a radical shift in direction. [28]
- Operations and markets: continued evidence of a busy investment-banking pipeline (Sharjah sukuk) and healthy trading interest in both London and Hong Kong (block trade). [29]
- Ownership trends: incremental but positive signs of institutional appetite, as seen in Creative Planning’s higher stake and robust global coverage of the stock. [30]
For long-term investors, today’s headlines don’t fundamentally change the core thesis built around strong capital generation, Asia-centric growth and attractive shareholder returns, but they do highlight the importance of:
- who becomes chair,
- how HSBC manages legal and regulatory risk, and
- whether earnings can stay on track if rates start to fall in its key markets.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Anyone considering HSBC shares should assess their own risk tolerance and, where appropriate, seek professional guidance.
References
1. www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, 2. www.investing.com, 3. www.hl.co.uk, 4. www.bsx.com, 5. www.investing.com, 6. www.aastocks.com, 7. www.ft.com, 8. www.ft.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.tradingview.com, 13. www.tradingview.com, 14. www.investegate.co.uk, 15. somoshermanos.mx, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.tradingview.com, 18. www.bsx.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.bsx.com, 21. www.hsbc.com, 22. www.lse.co.uk, 23. www.hsbc.co.uk, 24. m.fastbull.com, 25. www.ft.com, 26. www.theguardian.com, 27. www.lse.co.uk, 28. www.ft.com, 29. www.tradingview.com, 30. www.marketbeat.com
