Thanks for joining me. German inflation fell last month, official figures confirmed, delivering a boost to chancellor Olaf Scholz after a tumultious week of data on Europe’s largest economy.
The nation’s consumer prices index fell to 2.9pc in January, down from 3.7pc over 2023.
5 things to start your day
1) Britain’s biggest wind farm delayed by shortage of ships | Storms and chronic lack of vessels are hampering progress at Dogger Bank
2) Wall Street hits all-time high as S&P 500 reaches 5,000 | Strong earnings and excitement about artificial intelligence have boosted American share prices
3) Taxpayer bill for working-age benefits to hit £100bn this year | Rising cost of welfare payments comes amid surge in disability claims
4) Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Germany is not the sick man of Europe: it is time to take a punt on Deutschland Inc | Country’s leaders are facing down their economic problems with Teutonic determination
5) Ben Marlow: The London stock market’s decline is starting to look terminal | New York’s economic gravity is pulling companies out of the City’s orbit
What happened overnight
America’s S&P 500 stock market index hit 5,000 for the first time on Thursday, after a string of strong earnings reports and excitement about artificial intelligence (AI) continued to boost American share prices. But while the index edged up to 5,000.40 in the final moments of trading, it finished at 4,997.91.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged up 0.1pc to 38,726.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.2pc to 15,793.72.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose 5.6 basis points to 4.154%, from 4.098% late on Wednesday.
Asian shares were mostly higher Friday as Tokyo’s benchmark momentarily touched a 34-year high, while many regional markets were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed slightly higher, supported by gains of SoftBank Group, while the broader Topix was down on profit-taking.
The Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.1pc, or 34,14 points, points, to 36,897.42, while the Topix index slipped 0.2pc, or 4.75 points, to 2,557.88.
Investors were encouraged by remarks by Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida, who hinted the central bank will maintain its easy monetary policy stance even after ending its current negative benchmark rate.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2pc to 7,652.40. Thailand’s SET edged 0.1pc higher.
