Thanks for joining me. Money markets and analysts will shortly deliver their reaction to official data showing inflation fell more than expected to 3.9pc in November.
The reading comes as financial markets had hoped a falling inflation picture would lead to just over four reductions in interest rates next year from their present level of 5.25pc, starting by May.
We will have everything you need to know in the live blog.
5 things to start your day
1) Softbank and Arm chiefs meet Hunt as City reforms open door to secondary listing in London | The Financial Conduct Authority has unveiled proposals to streamline London’s listing regime to attract secondary listings
2) Care companies at fault in digital landline crisis, claims Virgin Media O2 | As phone lines are updated, local authorities need to step up
3) Scottish battery factory goes bust in fresh blow to UK’s net zero industry | AMTE Power has seen its finances tip into the red due to a lack of orders and investment
4) Debt-laden Asda’s interest bill to surge above £400m | Issa brothers scramble to sell off assets in order to pay down borrowings
5) Matthew Lesh (IEA): Britain’s only growth area is regulation and red tape | Our economic prospects are under serious threat – it’s time to rein in the regulators
What happened overnight
Asian shares mostly advanced amid hopes that Japan’s moves to keep interest rates easy for investors could augur similar trends in the rest of the world.
Oil prices were virtually unchanged after two days of gains.
Building on gains from Tuesday, Tokyo stocks closed higher as they were helped by a relatively cheaper yen against the dollar after the Bank of Japan indicated it plans to keep its super-loose monetary policy in place.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 1.4pc, or 456.55 points, to 33,675.94, while the broader Topix index ended up 0.7pc, or 15.57 points, at 2,349.38.
The rises came despite Japan experiencing a slight decline in its export performance for the first time in three months in November, a worrisome slowdown for the world’s third-largest economy.
Exports to China, Japan’s biggest single market, fell 2.2pc, while shipments to the US rose 5.3pc from a year earlier. Total imports fell nearly 12pc.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1pc to 16,669.44 while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4pc to 2,920.63 after China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Wednesday.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney gained 0.6pc to 7,533.90, while South Korea’s Kospi was 1.4pc higher to 2,603.85. Bangkok’s SET rose 0.6pc, and India’s Sensex climbed 0.3pc.
Wall Street extended its rally on Tuesday, advancing as investors looked ahead to crucial inflation data.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6pc and is just shy of its record set nearly two years ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading US companies gained 0.7pc, and set its own record for a fifth straight day, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 0.7pc.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries were down 2.3 basis points to 3.933pc, from 3.956pc late on Monday.
