FTSE 100 slips by 0.04 pct on HSBC, oil prices

FTSE 100 Index, British benchmark stock market gauge, Monday closed lower by 3.04 points, or 0.04 percent, to 6,912.16, as oil prices dropped and HSBC announced worse-than-estimated profits.

HSBC Holdings plc, a Britain-based bank in trouble for a tax evasion scandal, Monday announced its reported profits before tax stood at 18.68 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, down by 17 percent from the previous year.

HSBC said the primary reasons for the profit drop were lower business disposal and reclassification gains, and the negative effects of significant items, settlements, British customer redress and associated provisions.

A fall in oil prices also weighed on the market, as investors worry about oversupply in North America.

Standard Chartered led the top losers of the blue chips with a share price drop of 4.66 percent, followed by HSBC Holdings (4.63 percent), Anglo American (3.89 percent), Tullow Oil (3.73 percent) and Intertek Group (3.38 percent).

G4S's share price increased 3.28 percent, thereby topping the gainers among blue chip companies. Share prices of easyJet, Shire, Admiral Group and International Consolidated Airlines advanced by 2.63 percent, 2.47 percent, 2.26 percent and 2 percent respectively.

Trading in FTSE 100 companies was slightly higher than the 30-day average. The index has gained 5.79 percent so far this year in U.S. dollar terms. Endit