Thanks for joining us. A hiring slowdown led to the fastest drop in the number of job vacancies in Britain in three years.
The number of temporary job positions available also fell for the first time in nearly four years.
5 things to start your day
1) British battery plants given cheap power to break China dependence | Subsidised energy to make onshore production of key minerals more viable
2) City law firms offer staff autism tests to combat NHS backlogs | Employers offer workplace support for neural conditions
3) Decision on first mini-nuke sites delayed amid legal action fears | Contracts unlikely to be awarded before the next election
4) NatWest hires City law firm as it tools up for Nigel Farage battle | Bank lines up specialist lawyer in anticipation of debanking challenge
5) The big net zero lie? Britain’s ‘hidden’ carbon emissions | Claims that the UK has halved its carbon footprint fail to show the bigger picture
What happened overnight
Asian stocks fell after Japanese shares tumbled as growing speculation the nation’s central bank will raise interest rates boosted the yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.2pc, or 868.45 points, to close at 38,820.49, while the broader Topix index lost 2.2pc, or 59.97 points, to 2,666.83.
Chip stocks within the benchmark slumped in a move that echoed pressure on AI-related stocks seen on Friday in the US, when Nvidia slipped 5.6pc.
In Japan, economic growth expanded in the fourth quarter, supporting expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates for the first time since 2007 as soon as this month.
Declines for Japanese shares partly reflected the stronger yen, which typically acts as a headwind for the country’s equities.
The yen strengthened against the greenback, extending last week’s 2pc rally against the US currency — its best weekly gain since July. Japan’s 10-year real bond yields headed for a three-week high.
Chinese equities ran against the gloom to trade higher. The advance was helped along by the first rise in consumer prices since August. The 0.7pc gain in February CPI exceeded consensus estimates and is welcome news for investors worried about deflation in the world’s second largest economy.
Shares in Australia and South Korea also declined, sending a gauge of regional stocks down after three days of gains.