Europe facing gas shortage this winter, warn experts

Thanks for joining me. We begin the day with industry data indicate that Rachel Reeves’ constant referrals to a £22bn black hole in the public finances has begun to impact consumer confidence.

The British Retail Consortium warned that “negative publicity surrounding the state of the UK’s finances appears to have damaged confidence”.

5 things to start your day 

1) Reeves explores shake-up of City regulator in battle to boost growth | Chancellor’s advisers allegedly approach industry chiefs calling for ‘substantial reform’ of watchdog

2) Biden’s net zero borrowing binge fuels $2.1 trillion global debt surge | Warnings mount over unsustainable spending as global debt surges to $312 trillion

3) How Europe is embracing industrial decline to become the world’s museum | Spain’s post-industrial pivot to tourism offers both blueprints and warnings for northern neighbours

4) Tom Stevenson:After 15 years in the desert, have emerging market shares finally reached the oasis? | Falling interest rates and commodities’ improving prospects could boost investors’ outlook

5) George Trefgarne: Starmer faces a profound humiliation over Labour’s private school tax raid | The irony of a defeat in a human rights case cannot be lost on the Prime Minister

What happened overnight 

Shares in Hong Kong rallied more than 3pc in afternoon trading in Asia as stocks built on a surge this week fuelled by a raft of economy-boosting measures by China.

The Hang Seng Index jumped 3.2pc, or 604.28 points, to 19,733.38, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 2.2pc, or 63.08 points, to 2,959.39. 

The Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange climbed 2.2pc, or 34.32 points, to 1,609.60.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index  advanced 2.5pc to 38,812.94 and oil prices also advanced.

The rally in Asia followed an announcement that the Chinese government plans to give cash handouts or discount vouchers to the poor ahead of next week’s National Day holidays. 

While subsidies to ordinary people are uncommon, the ruling Communist Party sometimes marks special occasions with payments to families in difficulty.

The amount of the payments was not given. But they might help address a weak point for the economy — faltering consumer spending.

A notice on the WeChat social media account of the Ministry of Civil Affairs said authorities would “issue a one-time living allowance to the extremely poor, orphans and other needy people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China,” which is marked on October 1, next Tuesday.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1pc, to 2,649.51, after semiconductor maker SK Hynix launched production of a new memory chip for artificial intelligence. SK Hynix shares jumped 8.8pc.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.8pc to 8,187.60.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7pc, to 41,914.75, the S&P 500 fell 0.2pc, to 5,722.26, and the Nasdaq Composite was almost flat, closing at 18,082.21.

In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes, which influences investment decisions around the world, was 3.79pc from 3.74pc a day earlier.