HSBC share price bullish momentum accelerates. Is it a buy?

The HSBC (LON: HSBA) share price is holding steady near its highest level since February 2020 as investors cheer the company’s turnaround. The stock is trading at 558p, which is about 98% above the lowest level in 2020.

HSBC turnaround continues

HSBC is the biggest bank in Europe by total assets although it generates most of its income from Asia. The company has been going through a turnaround in the past few months.

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In a statement on Monday, the bank said that it will deepen its integration in Asia, where it is targeting high net-worth individuals. Its goal is to increase its wealth management business that is currently dominated by UBS.

As part of this expansion, the company committed to invest $6 billion in the region in the coming years. It also announced Luanne Lim as its Chief Executive of its Hong Kong business. Just last year, the company relocated some of its senior-most staff to Hong Kong from London.

The HSBC share price also rose after the company announced plans to trim its private bank staff in Switerland. It slashed 110 support staff in Switerland and scaled its office space in Geneva. The bank expects to save rents by about 20%. 

This decision happened in a year in which clients withdrew about $1 billion from the bank. Some analysts remain sceptical about the bank’s competitive role in Switserland, where it is facing strong competition from the likes of UBS and Credit Swiss.

Elsewhere HSBC announced that it will increase the payments for some of its junior bankers as the battle for talent intensifies. Some of these bankers could see their annual bonuses double this year. Other global banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have increased their wages sharply in the past few months.

HSBC share price forecast

The weekly chart shows that the HSBC stock price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few months. The stock has moved above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. Along the way, it has also jumped above the 25-week and 50-week exponential moving averages (EMA) while the MACD has kept rising.

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the HSBC share price will keep rising as bulls target the next key resistance level at 600p. The next key catalyst for the stock will be the upcoming earnings scheduled for February 22.