Thanks for joining me. More than a quarter of advertisers are planning to cut their spending on X, new industry data show, in a blow to Elon Musk two years after he took over the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The billionaire has criticised companies who have withdrawn spending since he took over the platform but has also reinstated a string of previously banned accounts, including Donald Trump and Tommy Robinson.
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5) BBC cuts dozens of jobs as it spends £80m on new diversity drive | Broadcaster battles to cut costs with plans to shed 500 roles by March 2026 and make £500m savings
What happened overnight
Asian markets were mixed following a global sell-off a day earlier, as Wall Street declined in the technology, energy and other sectors.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.9pc in morning trading to 36,700.19 as data showed wage growth remains strong.
Average cash earnings in July grew 3.6pc year-on-year, beating market expectations, while real earnings unexpectedly increased by 0.4pc in July, increasing the likelihood of another rate hike.
The U.S. dollar was trading at 143.81 Japanese yen.
In South Korea, the Kospi was less than 0.1pc lower to 2,579.93, as the country’s economy contracted by 0.2pc in the second quarter, in line with estimates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.4pc to 17,379.83 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1pc at 2,785.38.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1pc to 7,957.40.
Wall Street finished slightly lower in choppy trading on Wednesday.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.2pc to 5,520.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.3pc to 17,084.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1pc at 40,974.97.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 3.76pc from 3.83pc late on Tuesday.
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