Thanks for joining me. Tesla is a step closer to launching self-driving cars in China after an agreement with a tech giant on data sharing, following Elon Musk’s surprise visit to Beijing.
Under the deal with Baidu, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker will be allowed to use the Chinese tech giant’s mapping licence for data collection on China’s public roads.
5 things to start your day
1) Elon Musk makes surprise visit to Beijing | Meeting with Chinese comes as Tesla battles a sales slowdown
2) Sunak’s benefits overhaul ‘will not reduce bill’ | Payments to continue to rise despite stricter fit-for-work tests
3) UK must spend £30bn to strip CO2 from the air | Net zero targets impossible without carbon removal, experts say
4) Tory MP seeks assurances over Yorkshire potash mine | Anglo-American takeover raises questions over scheme
5) Chinese companies ‘fuelling theft of luxury cars’ | Thieves using cheap signal jammers to block GPS tracking
What happened overnight
The yen swung wildly as it surged soon after hitting a fresh 34-year low against the dollar, fuelling speculation Japanese authorities may have intervened to support the currency for the first time since late 2022.
The dollar’s rally came as another forecast-topping US inflation report dented hopes for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.
The yen slipped to 160.17 to the greenback in volatile morning trade, with liquidity thin amid a holiday in Japan. The fall stirred speculation that authorities would intervene to arrest its slide.
It later bounced back to 155.05, and Bloomberg reported the move suggested investors were weighing the prospect that officials would step in to financial markets.
The currency has come under renewed pressure after the Bank of Japan refused to tighten monetary policy further at its meeting last week.
Asian shares were trading higher amid optimism over the rally that ended the week on Wall Street.
Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6pc in early trading to 7,621.40. South Korea’s Kospi surged nearly 1pc to 2,681.73. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.2pc to 17,859.39, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6pc to 17,859.39.
Trading was closed in Tokyo for a Japanese national holiday, Showa Day. Japan has a series of holidays coming up known as the Golden Week, through Monday.
