Thanks for joining me. Burberry has revealed a sharp drop in profits as shoppers from China turned away from the luxury sector.
In the year to the end of March, its operating profit dropped by 36pc to £418m, as the number of shoppers from China dropped by 12pc in the final three months of last year.
5 things to start your dayÂ
1) Vauxhall owner to sell cheap Chinese electric cars in Britain | Stellantis boss criticises Western protectionism as he doubles down on China partnership
2) Colonial diamond empire De Beers to be sold as Anglo American fights off takeover | British mining giant launches shake-up after rejecting £34bn offer from BHP
3) Oil rig workers stranded at sea after helicopter pilots go on strike | Some staff cancel holidays with walkouts expected to disrupt more than 80 flights
4) Former Royal Mail boss seeks to deliver letters by drone | Simon Thompson claims technology could be a gamechanger for £173bn parcel industry
5) Jeremy Warner: Unrepentant Bank of England refuses to learn from its failures | Threadneedle Street’s distinct lack of contrition spells bad news for Britain’s future
What happened overnightÂ
Asian stocks were mostly higher after a rally on Wall Street that took the Nasdaq Composite to a record high.
Traders were reassured by comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said policymakers will not likely raise interest rates to respond to stubborn inflation. US consumer prices data is out later.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.4pc to 38,491.15 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.4pc to 7,760.40.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.4pc to 3,133.47 after the central bank kept a key lending rate unchanged Wednesday, signaling Beijing’s focus on maintaining monetary stability.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1.4pc and in Bangkok the SET was virtually unchanged.
Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.
Stocks rose on Wall Street yesterday, pushing the Nasdaq Composite to another record close and leaving the S&P 500 sitting just shy of its own all-time high.
The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily influenced by technology stocks, jumped 0.8pc, to 16,511.18, while the S&P 500 index rose 0.5pc, to 5,246.68. It is sitting about 0.1pc below its record high set in late March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3pc to 39,558.11.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds slipped to 4.45pc from 4.49pc late Monday.Â