UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 tumbles on HSBC cutbacks, Apple warning

* FTSE 100 falls 0.9%; FTSE 250 down 0.7%
* HSBC is biggest drag on main index
* Utilities outperform blue-chips
* NMC up for 2nd consecutive day

(Updates to closing prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M
Feb 18 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 slid to a two-week low
on Tuesday, weighed down by a near 7% drop in financial
heavyweight HSBC as traders sold stocks globally on the back of
a earnings warning from tech giant Apple AAPL.O due to the
coronavirus epidemic.
The main index .FTSE shed 0.9%, with HSBC dragging a
sub-index of banks .FTNMX8350 over 4% lower after its annual
profit declined and it laid out plans for a major strategic
overhaul that included 35,000 job cuts and the halting of share
buybacks.
"We are concerned by the precedent perhaps being set by HSBC
of suspending buybacks, a big source of upward pressure on stock
prices," London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said.
The more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 .FTMC gave up 0.7%
but still fared better than its blue-chip counterpart, which was
hurt more due to a larger exposure to commodity prices which are
under pressure over concerns of demand. O/R
Global market participants poured money into perceived safe
havens including gold after the signals from Apple, the world's
most valuable technology firm, that sales would be hurt by the
coronavirus outbreak. That underlined the economic impact of the
outbreak, which has begun to emerge in more concrete financial
declarations from companies in the past few days. Europe's index of tech stocks fell 1% .SX8P On the back of
Apple's statement.
"When the world's largest company sneezes, everyone else is
likely to catch a cold," OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said.
The losses followed modest rises in the previous session
when China introduced more stimulus measures to shore up its
economy and as many investors were observing a U.S. holiday.
Holiday Inn-owner InterContinental Hotels IHG.L outshined,
though, gaining 1.6% despite it saying it would take a hit from
the virus after a fall in revenue per room due to the impact of
the past year's protests in Hong Kong. Utilities Severn Trent SVT.L and United Utilities UU.L
also outperformed the broader market, climbing about 2% each
after JPMorgan sounded bullish on the sector following a recent
price control published by Britain's water regulator.
NMC Health NMC.L advanced for the second straight session
climbing 5.4%, a day after its founder BR Shetty resigned as
co-chairman of the healthcare company amid doubts about the
shareholdings of its major investors. The company is still worth
less than half of what it was three months ago.
But AIM-listed engineering firm Tekmar TGPT.L sank 25%
after it warned results would now be worse than previously
thought thanks to a halt in shipments to and from China.