The remaining HSBC shares not taken up by investors in the bank's record £12.5bn cash call have been successfully sold in the market this morning.
Traders said the 173m shares had been sold at 448p each in London and $51.83 apiece in Hong Kong, and the placing was five times covered. Confirmation of this is expected shortly. The rights issue was widely deemed a success, with investors taking up 96.6% of the shares offered. HSBC is now up 21.5p at 456p, which is helping to lift the overall market.
The FTSE 100 is now 45.46 points higher at 4075.13, while Wall Street futures are indicating an opening 45 point rise in the US.
Mining group Xstrata has climbed 35.5p to 574p as Merrill Lynch analysts raised their price target from 400p to 560p. The same bank has lifted its target for Kazakhmys from 280p to 540p, helping push the miner 25.5p higher to 477.5p.
