FTSE climbs 2% as HSBC doubles pre-tax profits

The FTSE 100 has soared 1.98% this morning as HSBC more than doubled pre-tax profit to £7bn.

London's top index of shares has climbed 104 points to 5,362.10, with bank shares leading the way. HSBC has advanced 4.47% to 674.9 after reporting a pre-tax profit of $11.1bn (£7bn), an increase of 121% compared with the first half of 2009. This week, the big five banks should collectively report interim profits of around £8.4bn.  The news boosted other financials with Lloyds gaining 5.1% to  72.79p while RBS rose 5.08% to 52.50p. Elsewhere, developer Hammerson advanced 2.09% to 396.50p after posting a 7% rise in half year profits to £70.2m. Intertek Group is the biggest ris...