House prices return to growth as mortgage borrowing jumps

Thanks for joining me. We begin the day with the latest figures showing house prices increased for the first time in more than a year in February. 

The average price of a home grew by 1.2pc in the year to February, rising for the first time since January 2023, making properties typically worth £260,420, according to the lender Nationwide.

5 things to start your day 

1) Chinese EVs pose a threat to US national security, Biden warns | President’s comments come as the West braces for Beijing’s electric car shock

2) Public sector must temper pay demands or put frontline services at risk, says Treasury | Large wage increases remain unaffordable and are eating into departmental budgets

3) How the myth of the ‘state pension pot’ has warped Britain’s finances | National Insurance inconsistencies highlight the shaky position of retirement nest eggs

4) Sunak accused of ‘stealth amnesty’ on asylum seekers as immigration surges again | 1.4 million people granted UK visas in 2023 as arrivals hit 18-year high

5) Ben Marlow: Ocado has failed to deliver for M&S customers | The repeated dismissal of old-fashioned values has come back to bite the online apostles

What happened overnight 

Facebook parent Meta announced it would no longer pay Australian media companies for news, prompting a government warning that the tech giant was in “dereliction” of past promises. 

Extending a global retreat from news content, Meta said it would scrap the Facebook News tab in Australia and would not renew deals with news publishers worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The decision had been on the cards, but will come as a hammer blow for Australian news outlets already struggling to stay afloat.

However, Australian shares hit fresh record highs – as did markets in Japan – as the key US PCE price index – the US Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – kept up hopes for a June rate cut.

Australia’s resources-heavy shares ASX 200 rose 0.6pd to a new record high of 7,745.6.

In Japan, the key Nikkei index almost touched 40,000 for the first time, rising 1.9pc, or 744.63 points, to close at 39,910.82, while the broader Topix index added 1.3pc, or 33.69 points, to 2,709.42.

China’s mainland markets were higher. The bluechips rose 0.4pc and Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.2pc, after rebounding nearly 10pc last month on the back of Beijing’s efforts to stop short-selling in the market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also reversed earlier losses to be up 0.6pc.

In America, the S&P 500 rose 0.5pc, to 5,096.27 to top its record set last week. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.9pc, to 38,996.39 and surpassed its all-time high that had stood since 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading US companies finished just below its record set last week after rising 0.1pc, to 38,996.39.

The yield on benchmark US 10-year Treasury bonds was little changed at 4.27pc.