UK nearing end of interest rate hikes, says Bailey

Thanks for joining me. Britain’s biggest homebuilders have revealed falling profitability and home completions as consumers come under pressure from rising interest rates.

Barratt Developments revealed a 16.2 per cent drop in its adjusted annual profit before tax to £884.3m amid falling mortgage affordability.

5 things to start the day

1) Saturday’s post is ‘under review’ as Royal Mail looks to cut costs | The company claims that its current obligations are “outdated and in need of urgent reform”

2) British chipmaker Arm will cut its valuation before listing in the US. | Microchip designer faces questions about growth since going public two weeks ago

3) Shoplifting is no longer considered a crime, says Asda chairman | Lord Stuart Rose joins calls demanding police do more to tackle spate of robberies

4) Reward savers and boost economy with ‘Great British Isa’, says top fund manager | Mike O’Shea urges policy makers to create a tax-free vehicle to increase investment in the UK

5) Facebook scraps a $1.6 billion funding plan after Sir Nick Clegg’s project fails | Company shifts focus to short-form videos as it faces stiff competition from TikTok

What happened during the night?

Stocks fell mostly in Asia after a slide on Wall Street as traders returned from a long holiday weekend.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose but most other regional markets fell.

Crude oil prices rose after fresh supply cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia, adding to inflationary pressures at a time when investors expect central banks to back away from interest rate hikes.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 33,208.26. In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.6% to 2,567.12.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.8 percent to 7,257.70 as the government reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the latest quarter. In quarterly terms, it expanded a modest 0.2 percent. The figures were better than expected.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.8% to 18,306.24, extending losses as the market pulled back after gains fueled by recent stimulus measures for China’s ailing property market.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 3,143.62. India’s Sensex was down 0.1 percent.

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street as traders returned from a long holiday weekend.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 4,496.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent to 34,641.97. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% to 14,020.95.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, rose to 4.27 percent from 4.18 percent late Friday.