Economy is ‘going gangbusters’, suggests Office for National Statistics – latest updates

Thanks for joining me. After the excitement of the Governor of the Bank of England saying interest rate cuts are needed, today the latest official figures show Britain has exited recession.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.6pc during the first quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics.

5 things to start your day 

1) Soaring immigration is fuelling Britain’s housing crisis, says Bank’s chief economist | Huw Pill said higher interest rates were not responsible for record hikes in rental costs

2) HSBC pushes Sunak to ease China crackdown | Banks fear new security rules will make doing business in Beijing more difficult

3) Trump ‘offered to block electric car rollout’ as he asked oil bosses for $1bn | Presidential candidate promises to dismantle Biden’s ‘ridiculous’ environmental rules

4) London’s stock market collapse is ‘massively overstated’, says Hunt | Chancellor attempts to assuage rising fears over Square Mile exodus

5) The charts that point to a summer interest rate cut | Easing inflation and a cooling jobs market suggest lower borrowing costs on the horizon

What happened overnight 

Asian stocks rose and are on course for a third week of gains as the Bank of England helped stoke renewed confidence in markets.

Sterling was steady at $1.2515, having touched a more than two-week low of $1.2446 on Thursday after Bank of England paved the way for the start of rate cuts as soon as next month.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7pc and was on course for a nearly 1pc gain for the week, its third straight week of gains. Japan’s Nikkei was 0.4pc higher.

China stocks were lower, with blue-chip shares down 0.3pc as geopolitical concerns weighed on sentiment following a trade restriction list issued by the Biden administration and potential new China tariff.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index though rose 2pc, having touched an eight-month high in early trading.

In America on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9pc, closing at 39,387.76, while the S&P 500 was up 0.5pc at 5,214.08 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3pc, reaching 16,346.26 at close.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bonds eased to 4.45pc from 4.50pc late on Wednesday.