FTSE 100 braces after Wall Street suffers biggest selloff since 2020 Business

ggood morning.

Global markets suffered a sharp sell-off overnight as fears of soaring inflation and slowing economic growth rattled investors.

The war in Ukraine and the Covid lockdowns in China both weighed on sentiment, triggering the biggest rout on Wall Street since the early months of the pandemic.

Disappointing results from retail giant Target sent the benchmark S&P 500 index down 4% – its worst fall since June 2020. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5%.

Nervousness spread to Asian markets as the FTSE 100 was poised to start the day in the red.

5 things to start your day

1) How the Bank of England’s money-printing spree paved the way for the inflation crisis Threadneedle Street largesse during Covid has helped prices rise now, economists say

2) Ask drivers to reduce motorway speeds to overcome energy crisis, says Brussels The European Commission asks Member States to reduce their electricity consumption

3) Vladimir Putin ‘arms’ the world’s food supply Western officials say Kremlin deliberately destroys agricultural equipment and grain warehouses in Ukraine

4) Elon Musk attacks Democrats as ‘the party of division and hatred’ Billionaire Accuses ‘Fake Social Justice Warriors’ of Attacking Tesla

5) Judge me on my performance, not on the fact that I wear pants, says head of Aviva Amanda Blanc hits back after learning she’s ‘not the man for the job’

What happened overnight

Asian markets posted big losses early Thursday after Wall Street suffered one of its worst hits in two years in the previous session. As of Thursday morning, Hong Kong was down more than 3%, while Tokyo was down around 2.5%.

coming today

• Business : Major Portland Estates, Investec, National Grid, Royal Mail (annual results); Campaign partnerships, easyJet, institutional investor Euromoney, QinetiQ (temporary); Essentra, Genuit Group, Tyman, Swiss Watches (commercial update)
• Economy: GfK Consumer Trust (UK)unemployment benefit claims (WE)