HSBC reinstates dividend, RBA announces surprise rate hike

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 12 points higher on Tuesday, having closed up 0.5% on Friday at 7,870.57, ahead of the long weekend.

Stocks to watch

HSBC reinstated its dividend and announced a new round of share buybacks as it trebled first-quarter profits on the back of rising interest rates. The bank posted a pre-tax profit of $13bn for the three months to March against $4.2bn a year earlier and the $8.64bn average company-compiled analysts’ estimates. It was also boosted by a reversal of a $2bn impairment HSBC took against the planned sale of its French business, reflecting the fact that the deal may no longer go through.

Australia's central bank surprised markets on Tuesday when its lifted its key interest rate again and warned of more hikes to come as it battled to combat persistent inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate 25 basis points to 3.85% at its monthly meeting, against expectations of a second consecutive pause. RAB governor Philip Lowe said inflation in Australia had "passed its peak, but at 7% is still too high and it will be some time yet before it is back in the target range".

Newspaper round-up

The man often touted as the godfather of AI has quit Google, citing concerns over the flood of fake information, videos and photos online and the possibility for AI to upend the job market. Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who with two of his students at the University of Toronto built a neural net in 2012, quit Google this week, the New York Times reported. Hinton, 75, said he quit to speak freely about the dangers of AI, and in part regrets his contribution to the field. He was brought on by Google a decade ago to help develop the company’s AI technology. – Guardian

The US government could default on its debt obligations by June unless Congress increases how much it can borrow, Janet Yellen has warned. The US Treasury Secretary said on Monday that President Joe Biden’s administration would run out of cash to pay all of its debts as early as June 1 unless the borrowing limit was lifted or suspended. – Telegraph

The chief executive of JP Morgan Chase has claimed the immediate US banking crisis is “over” as he stepped in to rescue its third victim in two months, the Californian lender First Republic. Jamie Dimon – who led JP Morgan through the 2008 financial crisis – said there was a limit to the number of banks that would collapse under the forces that have felled First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and the latest failure “pretty much resolves them all”. – Telegraph

GSK, one of Britain’s biggest drugs companies, has received a subpoena from the United States authorities seeking documents relating to its electronic health record programs. The order has been made by the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, which is working with the US Department of Justice’s civil division. The subpoena comes after investigations by the justice department into alleged fraud and kickbacks in the electronic health records market in the US, which have led to a series of multimillion-dollar fines. – The Times

One of the country’s biggest housebuilders is taking Michael Gove to court over his decision to block one of its developments because he did not like the look of the homes. Berkeley Homes has written to the housing secretary informing him that it intends to challenge his “irrational decision” to overrule planning inspectors and refuse permission for the 165-home development in Kent. It wants him to “agree to the immediate quashing of [his] decision”.- The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street closed weaker on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.14% at 34,051.70.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.04% to 4,167.87, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.11% lower at 12,212.60.