StockMarketWire.com - UK stocks opened lower on Monday after a disappointing earnings update from lender HSBC stoked global growth concerns.

At 0819, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 25.33 points, or 0.4%, at 7.299.14.

HSBC dropped 3.4% to 596.3p as it reported an 18% fall in third-quarter profit and warned it would miss its return on equity target for 2020.

Cairn Energy reversed 5.1% to 183.3p after an exploration well offshore Mexico came up dry.

Iron ore company Ferrexpo fell 0.4% to 132.9p on announcing that chief executive Kostyantin Zhevago would temporarily step down to focus on matters involving a former business interest in Ukraine.

Advertising group S4Capital rose 1.3% to 167.62p after it acquired London-based media and data science company ConversionWorks and South Korea-based data and analytics consultancy Datalicious, both for undisclosed sums.

Online women's fashion retailer Sosandar rallied 20% to 19.15p as it forecast a 53% rise in first-half revenue, but guided for higher-than-expected marketing costs for the full year.

Hostel group Safestay shed 2.4% to 31.04p on announcing that it had agreed to acquire Greek hostel AthenStyle for €1.5m.

Photo booth and laundry service provider Photo-Me International fell 3.7% to 86p as it warned of weakness at its identify unit, offset by growth at its laundry business.

Leak detection and remediation solutions provider Water Intelligence gained 8.9% to 289.7p, with its pre-tax profit results for the year to date 'comfortably' in line with expectations, while revenue was higher than expectations.

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