Thanks for joining me. Average wages have grown faster than expected in a blow to hopes for interest rate cuts in June.
UK average regular earnings growth remained unchanged at 6pc in the three months to March, the Office for National Statistics said, which was higher than the 5.9pc expected by economists.
5 things to start your day
1) Police ‘not interested’ in dealing with shoplifting, says M&S chairman | Retailer being forced to spend ‘a lot of money’ to keep down crime amid wave of thefts
2) Anglesey nuclear plant risks saddling taxpayers with £20bn bill | Plans for a power station at Wylfa risk being derailed by government rules
3) UK pharma giants pledge £430m investment in France after Macron charm offensive | AstraZeneca and GSK vow to upgrade facilities as part of president’s new programme
4) ‘Elon Musk of Essex’ prepares to call in administrators | Tevva Motors seeks emergency rescue deal after failing to secure additional funding
5) Melinda Gates quits Gates Foundation after divorce from Microsoft billionaire | Co-chair to be handed £10bn to commit to work ‘on behalf of women and families’
What happened overnight
Asian shares were mixed in muted trading after US stock indexes were little changed ahead of the release of inflation data.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost early gains and was trading less than 0.1pc higher at 38,194.38.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2pc to 7,731.40. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, inching up less than 0.1pc to 2,726.76.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up less than 0.1pc at 19,115.78, while the Shanghai Composite lost nearly 0.3pc to 3,139.89.
“Today marks a significant day for both Germany and the USA as they are set to unveil crucial economic data,” said Luca Santos, market analyst at ACY Securities, referring to consumer price data from Germany and producer costs in the US.
“Despite their different focuses, both indices offer insights into how inflation is shaping society,” he said.
US stock indexes hung near their record highs on Monday. The S&P 500 dipped by less than 0.1pc, to 5,221.42, after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. It remains within 0.6pc of its record set at the end of March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, to 39,431.51, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.3pc, to 16,338.24.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields eased a bit. The yield on benchmark American 10-year bonds slipped to 4.48pc from 4.50pc late on Friday.
