FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks rise amid global bond sell-off while gold hits fresh highs

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were higher on Wednesday as the global sell-off in long-term government debt continues.

After losses across the bond and equity markets on Tuesday, Britain’s long-term borrowing costs has hit a new 27-year high, building pressure on Rachel Reeves.

The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year UK gilts has risen to 5.747% this morning, above the high of 5.723% hit yesterday.

Elsewhere, the 30-year Japanese government bond yield hit an unprecedented 3.255%, following the jump in UK, US and eurozone bond yields. Yields on Japan’s 20-year government bonds rose to levels last seen in 1999.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said: "Investors are demanding higher returns to hold bonds exposed to both inflation risk and elevated debt levels. Higher yields, in turn, push up borrowing costs for companies and weigh on valuations. As a result, equities and corporate bonds also kicked off the week on a weak note."

Meanwhile, the price of gold has hit $3,546.99 per ounce, on track for its seventh daily rise in a row as investors seek out a safe haven.

London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was 0.2% higher in early trade Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.3% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.4% into the green The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.2% Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green. The pound was 0.1% down against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3374, close to the one-month low seen on Tuesday.

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Rachel Reeves to deliver budget on 26 November

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget will take place on 26 November, the Treasury has announced.

It comes as the UK government has to give the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) at least 10 weeks notice to conduct its assessment of the government’s tax and spending plans, in order for them to give its verdict once the budget speech has been delivered.

The late November budget date will give Reeves time to prepare the ground for potential tax changes, and address the ‘black hole’ that may have been widened by the recent sell-off in the bond markets.

Even before the cost of government borrowing reached a 27-year high, ministers were already having to find tens of billions of pounds in spending cuts or tax rises. 43 mins ago

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Asia and US stocks overnight

Stocks in Asia were lower overnight, following the global trend, with the Nikkei (^N225) fell 0.9% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.6% in Hong Kong.

Yields on Japan’s longer maturity JGBs continued to be at multi-decade highs, following the global selloff in bonds and political uncertainty in the nation. Yields on 20-year government bonds are up 3.1bps to trade at 2.667%, a level last seen in 1999 while those on the 30-year are 4.1bps higher to 3.26%, its highest since its debut in 1999.

The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.2% down by the end of the session and in South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 0.4% on the day.

Across the pond on Wall Street the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 0.8% down, with the Mag-7 1.08% down as tech underperformed.

The Dow Jones (^DJI) fell 0.6% on the day, partially recovering after trading 1.5% lower intra-day. It was still a broadly weak day with more than three-quarters of its constituents losing ground.

It came as a second court hearing began yesterday on whether President Trump can be temporarily barred from dismissing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, though Bloomberg reporting suggests that there likely won’t be a ruling before the end of the week.

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Coming up

Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will take a deep dive into what moving markets and happening across the global economy.

Looking ahead, today brings the US JOLTS report, factory orders, and August vehicle sales. In Europe, we’ll get Italy’s services PMI and Eurozone PPI, while Canada releases Q2 labour productivity.

Central banks are also busy: the Fed’s Beige Book is due, with remarks from Musalem, Lagarde, Bailey, and several other BoE speakers. On the earnings side, highlights include Salesforce, HPE, Gitlab and Dollar Tree.

Here's a snapshot of what's on the agenda:

7am: Trading updates: Hilton Food, Bakkavor, NCC 9am: Eurozone service sector PMI for August 9.15am: Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden keynote speech at a conference on innovation in money and payments conference 9.30am: Eurozone service sector PMI for August 2.30pm: Treasury Committee hearing with Bank of England policymakers 3pm: JOLTS survey of the US jobs market

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