Pound hits two-year high against euro

The board of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services said it has agreed to a £3.57bn takeover offer from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Under the deal, Mr Kretinsky has agreed for Royal Mail to deliver first-class post six days a week for the next five years. 

5 things to start your day 

1) Labour’s business letter ridiculed after executives refused to sign | Lack of big-hitting names should be ‘a big concern’ for the party, critics warn

2) Ocado set to be axed from FTSE 100 | Pressure to list in New York grows as tech company faces relegation from blue-chip index

3) Shell plots job cuts in offshore wind division | The oil giant is continuing to shift from green energy

4) US immigration surge risks keeping interest rates high for months | Top Fed official ‘concerned’ about housing market pressures amid battle to tame inflation

5) How Google’s malfunctioning AI risks ruining the internet | In changing the way its search engine works, the tech giant threatens to become its own undoing

What happened overnight 

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq managed to rise past the symbolic 17,000 barrier, and close above it for the first time as AI leader Nvidia hit a record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.55pc, to 38,852.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.02pc, closing at 5,306.04, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.59pc, to 17,019.88.

The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds rose to 4.54pc, from 4.473pc late on Friday.

Hong Kong shares fell at the beginning of Wednesday on concerns about the likelihood the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at all this year.

The Hang Seng Index sank 0.86pc to 18,659.41, the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.05pc to 3,108.03, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange eased 0.12pc to 1,726.93.

Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday after shares on Wall Street ended mixed.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.03pc at 38,867.89 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.05pc at 2,767.17.