Investing.com - Shares of U.K. banking giant HSBC Holdings fell more than 4% on Monday, after the lender reported lower-than-expected full-year earnings.
HSBC said full-year 2013 pre-tax profit rose 9% from a year earlier to $22.56 billon, well below expectations for profit of $24.6 billion. Pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter fell to $3.96 billion from $4.43 billion in the year-ago period.
"Today the group is leaner and simpler than in 2011 with strong potential for growth," CEO Stuart Gulliver said in a statement.
"Our strong capital generation continues to support our progressive dividend policy and reinforces HSBC's status as one of the best capitalized banks in the world," he added.
HSBC shares fell 3.7% in London to ₤630.00 after the earnings announcement.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained mixed. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.3%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.25%, while Germany's DAX inched up 0.2%.