5 things to start your day
1) Sunak risks clash with Bailey as Britain teeters on the brink of recession | Sunak risks clash with Bailey as Britain teeters on the brink of recession
2) China has ‘weaponised’ its dominance in critical minerals, say MPs | Britain’s net zero drive has been left dangerously exposed to a reliance on Beijing
3) Coal use to hit a record high in 2023 despite net zero push | Rising usage in China and India drives demand
4) How diversity policies have attacked the dominance of white men in the office | Revelations about Aviva’s recruitment policy have sparked a diversity debate in the City
5) Ben Marlow: Thames Water has a new face but the same old problems | Chris Weston steps into a rancid mess as new head of Britain’s debt-laden water company
What happened overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading American companies rose 0.43pc, to 37,248.35, while the broader-based S&P 500 gained 0.26pc, closing at 4,719.55. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.19pc to 14,761.56.
Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, said: “Under the surface we’re seeing extreme strength from small caps and mid caps while large caps catch their breath, potentially a sign this bull market is broadening out with more stocks participating.” The S&P 400 Mid Cap Index was up 2.37pc while the S&P SmallCap 600 Index rose 2.91pc.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds dropped to 3.9152pc from 4.033pc late on Wednesday, after the US Federal Reserve indicated that interest rate cuts are likely in 2024. It is the first time the yield has falled below 4pc since August.
Asian shares powered higher on Friday in response to the Dow’s ascent.
Hong Kong led Asia’s gains with property developers jumping after some Chinese cities eased buying restrictions.
The Hang Seng surged 3pc to 16,893.62. The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3pc at 2,968.49.
Troubled developer Country Garden’s shares jumped 5.1pc, while China Evergrande gained 3pc and Sino Ocean Holding surged 5.7pc.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that factory output rose 6.6pc in November and retail sales were up more than 10pc, glimmers of improvement for the economy after the post-COVID recovery faded much more quickly than expected.
However, investments in property weakened further, indicating that the crisis over excessive debt in that industry is far from resolved.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.9pc to 32,965.55 and the Kospi in Seoul added 0.9pc to 2,565.71. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9pc to 7,443.40.
Bangkok’s SET climbed 1.3pc and the Sensex in India was up 0.6pc.
