Thanks for joining me. Volkswagen will invest $5bn in Tesla rival Rivian in a deal that will give it access to the start-up’s technology.
The joint venture comes amid uncertainty in the electric car market, which is the subject of a trade war between US, EU and China, and lacklustre consumer demand.
5 things to start your day
1) Global wealth tax on ultra-rich ‘would raise up to $250bn a year’ | World’s wealthiest people are not effectively taxed, French economist warns in report for G20
2) Europe’s richest man buys stake in Cartier owner amid takeover speculation | Bernard Arnault sparks fresh rumours of swoop for rival Richemont after taking personal shares
3) Family holidays at risk from Airbus engine parts delays | World’s biggest planemaker forced to cut aircraft numbers after ‘persistent specific supply chain issues’
4) Aston Martin unveils new limited run supercar for ultrarich petrolheads | British brand resists push to scrap combustion engine with launch of £2m petrol-powered car
5) Jeremy Warner: Britain’s paltry savings are in Labour’s crosshairs | British growth will suffer if Starmer targets savers after the election
What happened overnight
Asian stocks stuttered in choppy trading as markets braced for a key US inflation reading later this week.
Meanwhile the yen lurked just shy of 160 per dollar level, keeping traders on alert for another round of intervention by Japanese authorities.
The mood was also dampened on markets as Federal Reserve officials cast doubt on the possibility of imminent intertest rate cuts.
A jump in Australian consumer inflation to a six-month high in May lifted the Australian dollar to its highest in two weeks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan struggled for direction and was flat at 566.53, not far from the two-year high of 573.38 it hit last week.
Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan stocks rose, led by chipmakers, tracking the rally in tech heavy Nasdaq on Tuesday, with Nvidia surging over 6pc, snapping out of a three-session tailspin that had erased about $430bn from its market value.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 of the biggest US businesses fell 0.8pc, to 39,112.16, the S&P 500 gained 0.4pc, to 5,469.30, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3pc, to 17,717.65.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds remained at 4.23pc, where it was late on Monday.
