5 things to start your day
1) Decaying Oxford St risks becoming blueprint for Britain’s high streets, retail chiefs warn | Retailers call for increased cooperation between Government and industry
2) Why the triple lock could blow a fresh hole in Jeremy Hunt’s finely balanced budget | Record wage growth dashes the Chancellor’s hopes of a pre-election tax cut
3) More than 3.5m people lose millionaire status as inflation soars | Soaring inflation and weaker currencies hit super rich
4) ‘Elon Musk of Essex’ moves Royal Mail electric lorry maker to US | Tevva will relocate to Delaware under merger after running into financial difficulties
5) M&S on course to re-enter FTSE 100 as turnaround pays off | Shares hit 19-month high after retail giant forecasts increased profits
What happened overnight
Wall Street stocks closed lower Tuesday, weighed down by by fresh concerns over the US banking sector, stronger than expected economic data and concerns over the health of the Chinese economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1pc lower at 34,946.39, while the broad-based S&P 500 sank 1.2pc to 4,437.86. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 1.1pc at 13,631.05.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.21pc
Asian stock markets dropped on Wednesday following declines across the board in the US as inflation and growth concerns sapped risk sentiment.
Hong Kong stocks opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index falling 1.07pc, or 199.33 points, to 18,381.78. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.41pc, or 13.16 points, to 3,163.02 and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange dropped 0.20pc, or 3.93 points, to 1,982.51.
Tokyo shares drifted lower in early trade. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.95pc, or 306.16 points, to 31,932.73 shortly after the opening bell, while the broader Topix index dropped 0.98pc, or 22.47 points, to 2,268.73.
The dollar stood at 145.55 yen, nearly flat from 145.57 yen in New York.
