Retailers ‘hold their breath’ for Budget as Reeves gloom hits food sales

Thanks for joining us. We start with a look at retail, where bosses are “holding their breath” as they wait to see what tax raising measures Rachel Reeves will announce in her Budget.

The British Retail Consortium said companies are holding off investment ahead of the Chancellor’s speech on October 30.

5 things to start your day 

1) Britain to suffer biggest exodus of millionaires in the world | High taxes and changes to non-dom rules driving away wealthy, warns think tank

2) Saudi Arabia hoovers up 40pc stake in Selfridges | Sovereign wealth fund PIF adds department store to stakes in Newcastle United and Heathrow Airport

3) Southern Water plans to pay out £275m in dividends despite rising debt pressures | Utilities company to reward shareholders as debt pile expected to grow to £8bn

4) Electric car makers and heat pump companies ‘deserve net zero tax break’ | Confederation of British Industry urges Reeves to introduce green innovation credit

5) Britain’s employers and staff pay more tax on earnings than Germany | Stealth raids leave tax burden higher than at any point since at least 1990

What happened overnight 

Mainland Chinese stocks had a roaring start after an extended break but were well off their morning highs.

The optimism did not spill into regional markets as Beijing fell short on delivering more details of its massive stimulus.

Hong Kong stocks, in particular, tumbled on Tuesday, reversing some of the rally they enjoyed while China’s markets were closed for the week-long National Day holiday.

China’s CSI300 blue-chip index surged 10pc in early trade to its strongest since July 2022, while the Shanghai Composite Index jumped roughly the same amount to its highest mark since December 2021.

But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 7.6pc, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index falling more than 10pc.

The big losses in Hong Kong led the rest of Asia lower with Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Mumbai all in the red.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9pc, to 41,954.24, the S&P 500 lost 1pc, to 5,695.94, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.12pc, to 17,923.90.

In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds rose to 4.03pc from 3.97pc late on Friday.