London, February 17, 2026, 07:49 GMT — Premarket
- HSBC (HSBA.L) hovered near 1,251.2 pence before trading started in London, following Monday’s gain of about 1%.
- UK unemployment climbed, with wage growth easing—fueling the ongoing debate on when the Bank of England might move to cut rates.
- UK inflation lands Wednesday, with traders keeping an eye out. HSBC’s annual numbers hit Feb. 25.
HSBC shares looked flat in early London trade Tuesday, with the stock indicated at 1,251.2 pence. Investors kept an eye on new UK labour numbers and recalibrated their interest-rate expectations. (HSBC)
Timing’s key here. HSBC—one of the heaviest names on the FTSE 100—has been tugging at the index, with bank stocks quick to react to every fresh data point out of the UK economy following the sharp volatility earlier this month.
At the heart of the trade: rate expectations. When rates drop, net interest income—the difference between what banks collect on loans and pay out on deposits—can get pinched, despite borrowers catching a break.
Britain’s unemployment rate ticked up in December, coming in at 5.2% versus 5.1% the month before. Wage growth, on one key measure, lost more steam than markets anticipated—slowing to 4.2% from 4.6%. Sterling slipped roughly 0.3%, last trading at $1.359. (Reuters)
HSBC ended Monday at 1,251.2 pence, rising 1.02% for the session. Shares moved in a range from 1,250.6p to 1,264.4p. Roughly 17.1 million shares traded hands, according to Investing.com. (Investing.com)
Lenders caught a break Monday as sentiment picked up. The FTSE 100 gained 0.26% in London. Shares of major UK banks clawed back some ground after last week’s drop, triggered by concerns over new artificial intelligence models. According to Reuters, markets have already started factoring in a 25-basis-point rate cut (0.25 percentage point) next month. NatWest shares surged 4.7%, while Barclays booked a 1.5% rise. (Reuters)
“It looks like the AI scare trade has stalled heading into this week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. She highlighted some tentative rebound in the sectors that bore the brunt of the recent selling. (Reuters)
UK assets face a packed schedule in the days ahead. “We are going to keep an eye on the UK data this week,” said Mohamad Al-Saraf, FX and fixed income associate at Danske Bank. Traders are also watching the Bank of England’s policy outlook. (Reuters)
All eyes shift to company news next week. HSBC is set to post its 2025 annual results at 4 a.m. GMT on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with an investor and analyst meeting scheduled for later that morning, its investor site shows. (HSBC)
The report is set to shape conversations about earnings momentum and costs, as well as how quickly capital is coming back via dividends and buybacks. Investor focus will likely zero in on credit quality, and there’s fresh scrutiny on the performance of fee-based operations like wealth management.
The path’s anything but smooth. Quicker rate cuts chip away at bank margins, but if inflation comes in hotter, markets might have to delay easing bets—rattling the sector all over again.
