<div id="readability-page-1"> <time datetime="2026-01-27T10:23:18+00:00"> Tuesday 27 January 2026 10:23 am </time> <figure> <div> </div> <img width="742" height="495" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1008464794_5cacae.webp/query-dz03NDI?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1008464794_5cacae.webp/query-dz03NDI"/> <figcaption>HSBC shares topped the FTSE 100 ahead of bank earnings season.</figcaption> </figure> Shares in Britain’s banking giants were helping lift the FTSE 100 out of the red this morning as blue-chip lenders rallied ahead of earnings season.HSBC – one of the City’s most valuable firms with a mammoth £218bn market cap – topped the index’s risers with an over two per cent gain to 1,270.60p – an all-time high for Europe’s largest lender.Meanwhile Natwest advanced 1.4 per cent to a post-financial crisis high of 659.40p. Lloyds edged up just under one per cent to 103.90p and Barclays 1.2 per cent to 486.50p.The gains helped keep the FTSE 100 above water, with the City’s blue-chip index up 0.2 per cent to 10,171.55p.“Were it not for HSBC’s gains today the index would be struggling to make any headway at all, despite yet more gains for gold and silver,” Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, told City AM.<h2 id="h-banks-fly-higher-as-miners-tumble">Banks fly higher as miners tumble</h2>Losses across the mining sector – which rivalled the banks as the market’s top industry in 2025 – flooded the index.Fresnillo, the top performing blue-chip last year, tumbled over three per cent in early trading, despite further gains in gold.Its peer Antofagasta was shortly behind at a 2.6 per cent slump.This came even as gold’s magnificent rally stormed onwards, breaking through the $5,100 mark for the first time. Silver was up near eight per cent on Tuesday morning, also at an all-time high.“Despite a good session overnight for Asia, where investors essentially ignored Trump’s fresh tariffs on South Korea, markets are conscious of tomorrow’s busy data docket, covering tech earnings and a Fed decision,” Beauchamp said.“As a result, it seems risk-on appetite will be contained today.”Britain’s banking giants kick off full-year earnings season on Thursday, with the country’s largest mortgage lender Lloyds first to go under the microscope.Barclays will follow on 10 February, before Natwest on 13 February and HSBC on 25 February. </div>

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HSBC shares led the FTSE 100's rise ahead of the bank earnings season, gaining over 2% to reach an all-time high of 1,270.60p. Other banks like Natwest, Lloyds, and Barclays also saw gains, helping the index rise 0.2% to 10,171.55p. However, the mining sector faced losses, with Fresnillo and Antofagasta dropping significantly despite rising gold and silver prices. The earnings season for major UK banks begins Thursday with Lloyds, followed by Barclays, Natwest, and HSBC later in February.

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Lloyds Banking Group plc

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HSBC shares keep FTSE 100 afloat ahead of bank earnings