Thanks for joining me. Ryanair has announced that net profit surged 72pc in its first half thanks to higher fares and record traffic during the peak summer season.
Profit after tax came in at €2.2bn (£1.9bn) in the six months to the end of September compared with €1.3bn in the equivalent period last year.
5 things to start your day
1) Grant Shapps warns Aviva over ethical investment policies on defence | Defence Secretary intervenes after insurance company reveals plans to exclude ‘certain companies’
2) EasyJet hack investigation abandoned because of ‘limited resources’ | Watchdog will not issue airline with penalty despite data theft of nine million customers
3) Tories vow war on public sector waste – and Labour is on side | Collapsing productivity is costing the state dearly
4) Sir William Lewis expected to drop out of Telegraph race | Former editor is preparing to take up position of chief executive and publisher of Washington Post
5) Selfridges ownership battle threatened amid debt crisis at Austrian backer | Signa faces speculation over 50pc stake in department store after being hit by cash crunch
What happened overnight
Asian shares advanced following Wall Street gains last week that were buoyed by hopes for early interest rate cuts.
South Korean stocks surged 4pc to 2,463.91, after the government restored a ban on short-selling, aiming to prevent illegal use of the trading tactic that is often used by hedge funds and investors. Short-selling refers to selling borrowed shares to profit from price declines.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 2.3pc to 32,670.38.
However, the country’s services activity in October expanded at its slowest pace this year, raising concerns about weakness in a key sector driving Japanese economic activity.
The Bank of Japan is gradually moving towards tightening its monetary policy as the central bank’s head stated today that the country has made progress toward reaching its inflation target. But Governor Kazuo Ueda said the change was not sufficient for raising its near zero interest rate stance.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.6pc to 17,944.91 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.7pc at 3,052.37. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3pc to 6,997.40. India’s Sensex was 0.5pc higher and Bangkok’s SET gained 0.2pc.
Wall Street steamrolled higher Friday as it closed out its best week in nearly a year.