EU close to deal on capping price of Russian oil – live updates

Good morning.

Elon Musk is on course to buy Twitter after reviving a takeover offer for the company.

The world’s richest person has caved to Twitter’s legal demands to buy the social media network for $44bn just days before a court battle over the deal was due to begin.

Twitter’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange were suspended from trading on Tuesday night after its price rocketed 22pc following reports that Mr Musk had offered to proceed with the takeover.

Mr Musk made the proposal in a letter to Twitter, Bloomberg reported, offering to pay the original offer price of $54.20 a share which was first tabled in April.

Read the full story here.

5 things to start your day 

1)  Rees-Mogg attacks ‘idiotic’ green levies on UK steel industry. The business secretary said it was “madness” that the UK was retaining levies implemented under legacy Brussels rules. 

2) The Bank of England stops buying bonds as market chaos subsides. On Tuesday the bank said it rejected all £2.2bn worth of bonds offered for sale by investors. 

3) Truss in talks with Norway to supply gas for 20 years amid blackout fears. Ministers are in talks with counterparts over a possible 20-year contract. 

4) Shut the railways during summer for engineering work, says former transport secretary. Lord McLoughlin, transport secretary between 2012 and 2016, said disruption during Christmas, Easter and other Bank Holidays could then be avoided.

5) Woodford-style run on funds worth $41 trillion threaten global stability, warns IMF. Open-ended investment funds have grown four-fold in value since the financial crisis. 

What happened overnight 

Stocks in Hong Kong grew as trading resumed after a holiday, playing catch-up to the rally in global equities.  

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose more than 5pc on Wednesday, led by tech and finance names. A gauge of Chinese technology stocks listed in the city rallied as much as 7pc. Mainland China markets remain shut for the Golden Week holiday.

Tokyo shares opened higher on Wednesday, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.79pc, or 212.41 points, to 27,204.62 in early trade, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.90pc, or 17.07 points, to 1,923.96.

Coming up today

• Economics: Services PMI (UK, US, EU), Composite PMI (UK, US, EU), ADP employment change (US), goods and services trade balance (US), trade balance (Germany)
• Corporate: Tesco, (interim), Hyve Group (trading statement), Topps Tiles (trading statement)