Downfall of U.K stocks...HSBC has become the reason

[woodstock]

Britain's benchmark stock index reversed earlier gains to trade flat on Monday as oil shares tracked rising energy prices while Europe's biggest bank HSBC after its first-half results.


The FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent. The blue-chip index lost 1.1 percent on Friday is now over 17 percent lower this year.


HSBC added more than 1 percent before falling 2.3 percent after it said its first-half profit fell 28 percent in line with forecasts as a $14 billion hit on bad debts on U.S. home loans asset writedowns offset strong Asian growth.