Thanks for joining me. House prices fell in March, according the latest survey by Halifax.
The average property was worth £288,430, down £2,900 – or about 1pc – compared to February.
5 things to start your day
1) British stock market lags behind France and Germany as companies ditch London | Dearth of listings casts long shadow over the Square Mile’s future prospects
2) Mini-nukes to be built in Hartlepool under multimillion-pound proposal | Engineering group Babcock wins funding to build small modular reactors in Teesside
3) Why the threat of a ‘nightmare’ Chinese supercomputer just got a step closer | Investigation into US State Department hack lays bare fears over quantum advances
4) Chinese restaurant replaces tips with 15pc ‘brand charge’ that goes to owners | Change comes ahead of fresh legislation that will force bosses to pass tips to workers
5) Ben Marlow: We are all at the mercy of Thames Water’s foreign ownership | Revelation comes amid concerns over foreign involvement in British infrastructure
What happened overnight
Asian shares mostly declined after a US Federal Reserve official said the central bank might not deliver any of the interest rate cuts that Wall Street has been banking on this year, citing concerns about inflation.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 2.4pc to 38,812.24. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.8pc to 7,756.20.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 1pc to 2,714.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8pc to 16,594.79.
Tensions in the Middle East added to the sense of pessimism. But some analysts suggested the Fed may cut rates at least once later this year.
American stocks on Thursday tumbled Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he is questioning the need to cut rates if so many areas of the economy look to be solid despite high interest rates.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.2pc for its worst day in seven weeks. Earlier in the day, a gain of nearly 1pc had brought it to the cusp of its record set last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung 1.4pc lower, after reversing a rise of nearly 300 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4pc.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 4.30pc from 4.35pc late on Wednesday.