Thanks for joining me. Wages have grown at a slower pace than anticipated in a boost for hopes of interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.
Regular pay excluding bonuses grew at 6.1pc in the three months to January, according to the ONS, easing back from 6.2pc in the period to December.
5 things to start your day
1) Four million at risk of abandoning work permanently as benefits surge | Post-pandemic shift in welfare discourages unemployed from looking for jobs, think tank warns
2) Britain risks losing out to Germany in £16bn net zero scheme | Developer behind Moroccan solar and wind farms ‘looking at options’
3) Wealth managers face the music after years of rip-off fees | The sector faces a remarkable fall from grace as the City watchdog launches a crackdown
4) Vogue publishing moguls to make up to $1.4bn from Reddit float | Closely watched listing will be one of the biggest of the year so far
5) Ben Marlow: Car finance scandal shows rotten banks incapable of change | PPI-scale mis-selling adds to misdeeds clocked up since the financial crisis
What happened overnight
Shares were mixed in Asia ahead of a report on inflation in the US that could sway the Federal Reserve’s timing on cutting interest rates.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 0.1pc, or 22.98 points, to 38,797.51, retreating further from its recent record highs as expectations build that the central bank will raise its negative benchmark interest rate next month. The broader Topix index fell 0.4pc, or 9.59 points, to 2,657.24.
That speculation has pushed the Japanese yen higher against the US dollar. Early Tuesday, the dollar was trading at 147.40 yen, up from 146.95 yen. Recently the dollar was trading at about 150 yen.
Chinese markets were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 1.2pc at 16,781.91, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.4pc to 3,056.35.
Elsewhere in Asia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1pc higher to 7,712.20. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.4pc to 2,671.26.
US stock indexes were flat on Monday ahead of an inflation report that could show how realistic Wall Street’s hopes for easier interest rates are.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1pc, to 5,117.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1pc, to 38,769.66, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.4pc, to 16,019.27.
In the bond market, yields edged higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 4.09pc from 4.08pc late on Friday.