Key events
Introduction: Banknotes featuring King Charles enter circulation; Indian stocks recover after election selloff
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.
New banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III have entered circulation today, nearly two years after he succeeded the late Queen Elizabeth as head of state.
The king’s image will appear on the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes issued by the Bank of England. Existing notes that carry a portrait of Elizabeth will continue to circulate.
However, it will take some time before the new notes are commonly seen in people’s wallets and purses. The new notes will gradually replace damaged banknotes, or will be printed when demand increases.
The Bank of England said:
This approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change. This means the public will begin to see the new King Charles III notes very gradually.
Elizabeth was the first monarch to feature on banknotes in 1960, in contrast to coins in England which have carried images of kings and queens for more than 1,000 years.
The reverse side of Bank of England polymer banknotes are unchanged, featuring Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing. Notes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland do not feature the monarch.
In financial markets, Asian stocks are mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 0.9% lower, dragged down by the renewed strength of the yen, and the Shanghai Composite slipping 0.7% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.5%.
In India, the Nifty 50 index rose 1.9% in volatile trading, after sliding nearly 6% on Tuesday, its worst session in four years, when foreign investors sold around $1.5bn worth of shares. The BSE Sensex (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) rose 2% after losing 5.7% yesterday. Both indices had touched lifetime highs on Monday.
Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP party lost an outright majority in parliament for the first time since he became prime minister in May 2014, forcing him to forge a coalition government to return to power. This has sparked uncertainty over economic policies, including Modi’s push for investment-led growth.
Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at the bank Julius Baer said:
While the BJP’s power may be diluted, it’s still intact. Momentum in the economy from the existing reforms is still strong and will not fade away.
The Agenda
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8.15am BST: Spain HCOB Services and Composite PMIs for May
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8.45am BST: Italy PMIs for May
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8.50am BST: France PMIs for May
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8.55am BST: Germany PMIs for May
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9am BST: Eurozone PMIs for May
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9.30am BST: UK S&P Global PMIs for May
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1.15pm BST: US ADP Employment for May
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2.45pm BST: Bank of Canada interest rate decision
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3pm BST: US ISM Services PMI for May
