Thanks for joining me. Global markets are increasingly volatile after Iran fired rockets at Israel following the latter’s invasion of southern Israel.
Stocks fell while oil, gold and the US dollar pushed higher amid concerns the conflict could expand into a wider war in the Middle East.
5 things to start your day
1) Ed Miliband reveals plan to prevent net zero blackouts | Giant metal ‘flywheels’ to be installed across Britain to help stabilise electricity grid
2) Rayner considers extended probation periods to get long-term sick back to work | Flexibility could help encourage employers to take chance on workers with history of ill health
3) France plans tax raid on wealthy to tackle ‘colossal’ debt | New prime minister fires warning at ‘richest part of the population’ amid higher-than-expected deficit
4) Labour donor pockets millions of pounds in ‘aggressive’ Autoglass debt deal | Gary Lubner to receive £125m as repair company’s debt rating is slashed to ‘junk’ status
5) Jeremy Warner: Post-Brexit Britain is pursuing the same flawed economic strategies as Europe | Labour is aping the top-down instruction and control preferred by EU policymakers
What happened overnight
Many Asian shares were down amid the sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 2.3pc to 37,768.79, continuing a retreat since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose Shigeru Ishiba to lead the government.
Oil prices extended gains after Iran fired dozens of missiles into Israel, potentially raising the risk of disruptions to supplies.
That news overshadowed an upbeat report showing US job openings rose unexpectedly in August as the American jobs market continued to show resilience.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4.9pc to 22,173.61, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm over recent moves by Beijing to rev up the Chinese economy.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2pc. to 8,196.70 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.8pc to 2,572.80.
But regional trading was thin, with mainland Chinese markets closed for a weeklong national holiday.
Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing down 0.4pc. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.9pc to 5,708.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.5pc to 17,910.36.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 3.74pc from 3.78pc late on Tuesday.