Banks are edging higher ahead of their results but HSBC is leading the way following reports that it has given the green light to the £2bn sale of its train leasing business.
HSBC Rail owns 4,000 trains, around a third of Britain's rolling stock, and is one of three leasing businesses created when British Rail was privatised in the 1990s.
The price tag includes around £200m for capital expenditure, according to Reuters, and among the interested parties are said to be a joint venture of Macquarie and JP Morgan, as well as investment company Star Capital. Final offers are expected within the next two months.
HSBC - which reports annual figures next Monday - has climbed 12.4p to 713p, making it the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 index.
