Shares in De Beers owner surge after takeover approach

Thanks for joining me. Shares in British mining heavyweight Anglo American are on track to rise when trading begins after it confirmed it is examining a takeover bid from BHP.

The deal would be a potential blow for the London Stock Exchange as the FTSE 100 would lose one of its most significant mining companies and the owner of the prestigious De Beers diamond company.

5 things to start your day 

1) BHP plots possible takeover of rival mining giant Anglo American | Acquisition of De Beers owner would serve fresh blow to the Square Mile

2) Meta shares sink as AI doubts rise | About £120bn wiped from the Facebook parent’s market value

3) Let us hire foreign cabin crew, says Ryanair boss | Michael O’Leary warns expansion is at risk if he is forced to rely on British workers

4) Burberry ‘a takeover target’ after share price plunge | British luxury brand ranks among the FTSE 100’s worst performers so far this year

5) Democrats abandon Tesla as Musk turns right-wing influencer | Democrats abandon Tesla as Musk turns right-wing influencer

What happened overnight 

Meta’s share price plunged further on Wednesday night. The tech giant’s stock fell nearly 17pc in after-hours trading.

In response, Asian equities were mixed on Thursday morning as investors turned cautious.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 2.2pc, or 831.60 points, to end at 37,628.48, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.7pc, or 47.20 points, to 2,663.53.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped nearly 1pc to 2,649.96. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5pc to 17,282.67, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.2pc higher, to 3,049.90.

Trading was closed in Australia for a national holiday, Anzac Day.

Wall Street delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday as markets await key US inflation data while digesting mixed corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1pc at 38,460.92. The broad-based S&P 500 ended flat at 5,071.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1pc to 15,712.75.