UK home sales are expected to grow for the first time in a year

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The UK economy stagnated in February amid an industrial move across sectors, with lackluster GDP figures showing 0% growth. Meanwhile, Tesco will announce its full-year results this morning. Huw Pill of the Bank of England will speak later.

5 things to start your day

1) The IMF is wrong about Britain, Hunt says The chancellor insists the UK can weather the bleak economic outlook for a Washington-based fund

2) The bank is operating at the deadliest rate in the digital age, Bailey warns The governor told the IMF that social media fuels rumors and speeds up withdrawals as money is transferred online

3) Bankers who refuse to return to the office will be punished, JPMorgan | Employees still fail to hit the minimum office attendance of three days a week

4) HMRC recovers £700m in inheritance tax raid | Families are required to pay a death fee after a tax officer concludes that they have violated regulations

5) US inflation fell to the lowest level in two years | Surprisingly good numbers indicate that price pressures have turned a corner

What happened overnight

Wall Street stocks closed lower after minutes of the March Fed policy meeting revealed concerns among interest rate setters that banking pressures could push the economy into a mild recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.1%, at 33,646.50. The S&P 500 closed down 0.4% at 4091.95, while the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9% to 11929.34.

Recent comments from Federal Reserve officials reversed earlier gains after new data showed that US inflation fell to a two-year low, raising hopes that the central bank will halt rate hikes soon.

The two-year rate-sensitive Treasury yield fell 8.8 basis points to 3.970 percent, and the benchmark 10-year yield fell 3 basis points to 3.404 percent.

Asian stocks pared earlier losses as traders digested the mild US inflation data.

Benchmarks pared declines in Japan, South Korea and Australia. Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares sank more than 1% at the open on Thursday.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.63 percent, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.18 percent, and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s Second Stock Exchange lost 0.29 percent.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was also down 0.32% in early trade, while the broader Topix was down 0.26%.

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