Eurozone inflation cools faster than expected as UK left further behind
The annual fall in house prices has worsened over the last month as the Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates later in the year.
According to Nationwide, prices were down 3.4 percent annually in May, compared with a 2.7 percent drop in April.
House prices fell slightly last month by 0.1 percent compared to April, with the average property now worth £260,736.
5 things to start your day
1) Tories want Rishi Sunak to abolish ‘morally wrong’ inheritance tax | The Telegraph launches a campaign to abolish the death tax
2) Fighting for Survival at Britain’s ‘Voice of Business’ | The scandal-hit CBI is struggling to survive following allegations of sexual assault
3) Sunak discusses AI pact with Biden amid ‘extinction risk’ warnings | The White House is divided over concerns that regulation could weaken US competition
4) Britain braces for recession as higher rates put pressure on mortgage holders | Due to persistent inflation, the UK is the only major economy set to experience negative growth in 2023
5) Home sales fall to their lowest since the Covid viewing ban | The slump reflects the sharp rise in mortgage rates since the mini-budget in September
What happened overnight?
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to suspend the debt ceiling, averting a catastrophic default and giving Joe Biden a sigh of relief.
The deal, drafted by US President and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, will now be sent to the Senate, where it will almost certainly pass.
Asian benchmarks were mostly higher following the passage of the debt ceiling and fiscal austerity package, avoiding a default crisis.
But enthusiasm was dampened by worries about the Chinese economy after recent data on a recovery in the world’s second largest economy and a key engine of regional growth disappointed.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 percent to 30,976.43. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 7,109.40.
South Korea’s Kospi quickly pared its early gains, falling 0.4 percentage points to 2,567.86. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.8 percent to 18,381.63, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.4 percent to 3,216.86.
Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday as markets awaited a congressional vote. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.4% at 34,908.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.6 percentage points to 4,179.83, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also fell 0.6 percentage points to 12,935.29.