Thanks for joining me. We start the week with a new record high for Japan’s flagship stock market as the AI rally continues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.5pc, or 198.41 points, to end at 40,109.23.
5 things to start your day
1) Hunt’s hopes for $90bn London Shein float risks being derailed by High Street rebellion | Retailers call on ministers to close tax loophole used by Chinese fast fashion giant
2) UK’s £400m electric bus scheme accused of ‘subsidising China’ | British manufacturers say current scheme is slowing net zero transition
3) Banks call for crackdown on Apple over claims it stockpiles British spending data | Calls for better policing of data come amid fears big tech is gaining an unfair advantage
4) Lenders sound the alarm over ‘rapid’ uptick in 35-year mortgages | Almost one in four first-time buyers are now stretching their repayments over 35 years
5) Saudi Arabia and Russia lead Opec in extending oil cuts | Move triggers fears that the cartel could keep cuts in place for the rest of the year
What happened overnight
Asian stocks were mostly higher ahead of China’s top annual political gathering, while Japan’s benchmark surpassed the 40,000 level for the first time.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index advanced 0.5p to 40,109.23, breaching the 40,000 level, after a big rally on Wall Street last week pushed US stocks to new heights.
Shares in Japan have tracked gains in other markets driven by expectations for strong demand for technology associated with artificial intelligence. They have also been boosted by continued easy credit policies with the Bank of Japan pumping money into the economy to help support growth.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2pc to 16,558.00 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.2pc to 3,033.63.
All eyes will be on the National People’s Congress annual meeting in China that starts Tuesday, during which Beijing might announce steps to bolster an economy that is sagging under the weight of expanded government controls and the bursting of a real-estate bubble.
The Kospi in Seoul surged 1.2pc to 2,672.94 after a private-sector survey showed manufacturing activity expanding at a slower pace in February compared to previous months as overseas demand weakened.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1pc at 7,598.00, and in Bangkok the SET edged 0.1pc lower.