Thanks for joining me. Brent crude oil has risen towards $91 a barrel after Israel said it would be forced to respond to Iran’s attack on the country at the weekend.

The vow comes despite Europe and the US urging restraint after deeming Tehran’s attack on Saturday a “failure”.

5 things to start your day 

1) Elon Musk to cut 14,000 Tesla jobs amid electric car slowdown | Billionaire says 10pc reduction ‘must be done’ after first fall in sales in four years

2) Trump’s Truth Social suffers $700m slump after issuing new shares | App’s value tumbles 15pc as former president begins criminal trial

3) New York threatens London’s fintech dominance, says Revolut UK chief | The City risks losing talent to the US just as investors regain confidence

4) All new smart meters to have surge pricing function under government plans | Households would be charged more as demand rises under ‘time of use’ tariffs

5) Nike on the back foot as shoppers flock to Adidas for Sunak’s favourite trainers | Demand for Sambas sees German sportswear giant outpace its rival

What happened overnight 

Asian shares skidded Tuesday following a slump on Wall Street after higher yields in the US bond market cranked up pressure on stocks.

The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.4pc to 3,013.84 even though the Chinese government reported that the economy grew at a faster-than-forecast annual rate of 5.3pc in the first quarter of the year. In quarterly terms it expanded at a 1.6pc pace.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.9pc to 16,279.66.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.1pc to 38,402.59 as the dollar continued to gain against the Japanese yen, hitting fresh 34-year highs. By midday the dollar was trading at 154.33 yen, up from 154.27 yen.

Wall Street closed sharply lower on Monday amid rising US Treasury yields as simmering tensions in the Middle East helped curb investor risk appetite.

Meanwhile US retail sales data for March blew past analyst expectations, providing the latest evidence in the case for the resilience of the American consumer but also suggesting the Fed could hold off on cutting interest rates for longer than previously anticipated.

The three major US stock indexes reversed initial gains to extend Friday’s sell-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.65pc, to 37,735.11, the S&P 500 lost 1.20pc, to 5,061.82, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.79pc, to 15,885.02.