Bank of England to cut rates at every meeting until May, economists predict

Thanks for joining us. We begin the day with a look at the currency markets, where the pound has fallen after comments by the Governor of the Bank of England.

Andrew Bailey said policymakers could become a “bit more aggressive” about cutting interest rates if the news about inflation is good.

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What happened overnight 

Hong Kong stocks tumbled more than 3pc after a weeklong surge in which they soared more than 20pc.

Japanese shares rallied following a rollercoaster few days in Tokyo after new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba dampened speculation over an interest rate hike.

The dollar gained against the Japanese yen helping push Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index higher. It gained 2.2pc to 38,655.03, while the dollar traded at 146.80 Japanese yen, up from 146.41 yen late Wednesday.

The dollar had been trading around 142 yen after the ruling Liberal Democrats chose Shigeru Ishiba to head the party and succeed Fumio Kishida as prime minister. Ishiba had expressed support for the central bank’s recent moves to raise its near-zero benchmark interest rate, which stands at around 0.25%. That led traders to bet that the yen would gain in value.

But after a meeting between Ishiba and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, both officials indicated that the central bank did not view further rate hikes as suitable for the economy at this time. That prompted a flurry of selling of yen.

Other Asian markets rose, with Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta all in the green.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1pc, to 42,196.52; the S&P 500 was flat, closing at 5,709.54, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1pc, to 17,925.12.

In the bond market, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes rose to 3.78pc, from 3.74pc late on Tuesday.