Thanks for joining me. We begin the week with a potentially huge boost for the London Stock Exchange.
China-founded fast fashion retailer Shein is preparing to file documents with regulators that will take it a step closer to a blockbuster float that would make it one of the largest members of the FTSE 100.
5 things to start your day
1) Cash-strapped councils to recoup record £1.4bn to avoid collapse | Experts warn that last resort sales will only worsen local government’s fiscal squeeze
2) Rolex increases watch prices in UK as gold rallies | Surge in value of gold comes as investors look for safe haven assets amid uncertainty
3) HSBC owed £143m by Barclay family’s collapsed logistics company | Restructuring experts overseeing administration warn the bank ‘will not be repaid in full’
4) Opec cartel to extend cuts to oil output in bid to prop up prices | Saudi Arabia and Russia are driving efforts as they seek to bolster their balance sheets
5) Britain’s real life ‘Q-branch’ joins US war on fentanyl with blimp fleet | QinetiQ is to take over network of airship-like craft monitoring American borders
What happened overnight
Asian shares began June with big gains after a report showing that inflation in the US is not worsening drove a rally on Wall Street.
Tokyo stocks closed higher amid gains for major bank shares, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbing 1.1pc, or 435.13 points, to end at 38,923.03, while the broader Topix index added 0.9pc, or 25.58 points, to 2,798.07.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the region’s gain, jumping 2.7pc to 18,560.98 and the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.3pc, to 3,095.63.
The Kospi in Seoul surged 1.9pc to 2,687.11. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7pc to 7,756.80. In Taiwan, the Taiex was up 1.9pc.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8pc to close its sixth winning month in the last seven, ending at 5,277.51. The Dow leaped 1.5pc to 38,686.32, and the Nasdaq slipped less than 0.1pc to 16,735.02.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
