HSBC shares fall after H1 results

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of HSBC (HSBA.L) (0005.HK) fell 1.47 percent on Tuesday after it reported a 28 percent fall in first-half profit, which was at the lower end of market expectations.

HSBC shares are set to open HK$1.90 lower at HK$127.50 while its unit Hang Seng Bank (0011.HK) is set to open 0.64 percent higher at HK$156.40.

HSBC has gained nearly 15 percent since hitting a five-month low in mid-July, spurred by lower-than-expected losses at its U.S. peers and talk that China's sovereign fund CIC was looking to buy a stake in the lender.

HSBC reported a 28 percent drop in first-half profit as it took a $14 billion (7.1 billion pound) hit from bad debts on U.S. home loans and asset write-downs.

Europe's largest bank said on Monday it was still too soon to say whether bad U.S. housing debts had peaked in the first half of the year, despite a slower rate of deterioration.

Its unit Hang Seng Bank posted a smaller-than-expected 2.2 percent rise in first-half profit on Monday with interest margins and fee income driving growth.

(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Edmund Klamann)