By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks briefly hit a record high on Monday, but fell as shares of HSBC Holdings PLC pushed lower after the banking heavyweight released financial results.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 6,890.49. It had opened higher and briefly surpassed its previous all-time closing high of 6,930.20.

But the FTSE 100 then felt the weight of shares of HSBC (HSBC), which dropped 5.9% after the company said its fiscal-year 2014 pretax profit was down 17% to $18.68 billion. Net profit slid to $13.7 billion, from $16.2 billion a year ago, as the bank was hit with higher costs and provisions for misconduct (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hsbc-posts-fall-in-profit-2015-02-23-3485413).

Ahead of the release of the results, the bank in a statement acknowledged that Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver holds a Swiss account. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hsbc-chief-hit-with-tax-avoidance-scandal-2015-02-23)

The statement followed a report from The Guardian newspaper that Gulliver held around GBP5 million ($7.7 million) in a Swiss account, and is domiciled in Hong Kong for tax and legal reasons. The report comes as HSBC has been dealing with allegations it has aided clients in dodging taxes through its Swiss unit.

"For all the recent media furor around potential conduct issues, it is the 'underlying' performance which, we believe, should be the greatest cause of investor concern -- right across revenues, costs and impairments," said Investec Securities analyst Ian Gordon in a note Monday.

HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint and officials from the HM Revenue and Customs agency are scheduled to appear before Parliament's Treasury Select Committee in London on Wednesday.

In other banking sector developments, Lloyds Banking Group PLC said the U.K. government has cut its stake in the company to 23.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-government-cuts-its-stake-in-lloyds-2015-02-23) , a move that raised about 500 pounds ($770 million). Lloyds shares were up 1.1%.

The government during the 2008 financial crisis used $21 billion in taxpayer funds to rescue Lloyds.

Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC were up 0.3%. The Financial Times reported the bank is set to appoint Sir Howard Davies as its next chairman. Davies, who once served as the head of the Financial Services Authority, will succeed Philip Hampton in the role of chairman this summer, according to the report.

Also pressuring the FTSE 100 were energy and mining shares, with Antofagasta PlC down 2.7%. The copper miner cut its fiscal 2015 cash-cost forecast by 10 cents a pound to $1.50 a pound, from $1.40 a pound, citing a weaker Chilean peso and lower oil prices. The revised forecast should help boost earnings and free cash flow, even in a challenging environment for commodity prices, said Jefferies analyst Chris LaFemina in a report.

"However, this cost deflation also highlights an ongoing risk in the commodities sector as many miners benefit from FX and reduced input costs, leading to a potential lowering and flattening of the cost curve," LaFemina wrote.

On the upside were shares of Associated British Foods PLC . They rose 0.9% after the ingredients maker and parent company of retailer Primark said underlying trading remains in line with expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/primark-parent-ab-foods-trading-in-line-with-view-2015-02-23). It also continues to expect a marginal decline in per-share adjusted earnings for the full year.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires