British stocks represent a golden buying opportunity after a wave of selling by UK pension funds comes to an end, HSBC said. Bargain basement prices for UK listed companies and expectations that defined benefit pension funds will be lured back to British stocks has prompted the bank’s researchers to urge clients to shift more money into the London market. The optimistic outlook is a major boost for the UK stock market, which has been mired in gloom due to a lack of flotations and companies quitting for New York and Frankfurt. British pension funds have pulled an estimated £1.9 trillion from the market over the past three decades, according to HSBC, but the trend is set to reverse. “The long-term structural overhang of UK pension fund selling is at an end; they simply have no more UK equities left to sell,” the bank’s research team said. Labour victory in the upcoming General Election is also unlikely to unsettle the stock market. The bank’s upgrade on UK stocks, from neutral to overweight, means investors should consider putting a greater proportion of their investment portfolio into the UK. The move is at odds with Coutts, the King’s bank, which last month decided...