G ood morning. Europe is set to open in the green after China pledged to introduce fresh stimulus measures to shore up its economy in the wake of the coronavirus.
Beijing said it would cut rates on one-year loads to support the banking sector and introduce some tax cuts to help cushion the blow of the health emergency.
5 things to start your day
1) Less than one week into the job and the new Chancellor is being urged to suspend a huge tax shake-up . Rishi Sunak has been warned the contractor tax will cause “enormous damage” to contractors and the wider economy.
2) The UAE wants a speedy trade deal with UK . Its foreign minister Anwar Gargash has welcomed Boris Johnson’s proclamation that Brexit will be a “catalyst for free trade”.
3) Where did it all go wrong for Domino’s? Overambitious expansion plans and running battles with franchisees have meant Domino’s has neglected to invest in technology.
4) A new Northern Powerhouse bank is pledging , new homes . Challenger bank GBB is looking to target areas that should receive an uplift from HS2 and Northern Powerhouse rail projects.
5)
General Motors says it’s pulling out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments.
What happened overnight
Asian shares reversed earlier losses on Monday and moved back toward a three-week top as Chinese efforts to cushion the blow from a coronavirus outbreak cheered investors, although Japanese stocks faltered amid growing recession risks.
Trading is expected to be light as US stocks and bond markets will be shut on Monday for a public holiday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a tad firmer at 728. 048, not far from last week’s peak of 823. , which was the highest since late January.
The gains were helped largely by Chinese shares with the blue-chip index adding 0.4pc after the country central bank lowered one of its key interest rates and injected more liquidity into the system.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0. 45 pc, or 558. points, to , 940. 30000 by the break.
Fears about the jolt to the world economy from the coronavirus still lingered though as the number of reported new cases in China rose to 2, 90 as on Sunday from 2, the previous day.
Coming up today
No major UK companies are scheduled to report.
In the US, markets will be closed for the President’s Day national holiday.
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