Public sector pay increased by its highest percentage outside of the Covid pandemic in the three months to February.

The increase of 5.3pc in average regular pay came as 348,000 working days were lost to strike action in February, as teachers walked out.

Unemployment rose to 3.8pc over the period, according to the Office for National Statistics.

5 things to start your day 

1) Barclays faces challenge over Jeffrey Epstein crisis | Shareholder group’s unusual intervention comes ahead of bank’s annual meeting

2) Cash will become ‘less useable’ as high street goes contactless, says Bank of England | Deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe warns of long-term decline in places where bank notes can be spent

3) ‘Invest in solar farms and save £300 on energy bills’ | Developers’ offer comes amid fears Devon project will devastate local landscapes

4) EY to cut 3,000 jobs in US after abandoning break-up plans | Announcement follows cost-saving measures taken by rivals KPMG and Accenture

5) US banks fall as withdrawals spook markets | Billions were wiped off the value of US lenders as aftershocks from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) continued to rattle the markets

What happened overnight 

Asian shares were trading mixed as pessimism about global uncertainties remained even as China reported a better-than-expected economic growth data.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.5pc to 28,662.79. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3pc to 7,363.40. 

South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3pc to 2,568.77. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.7pc to 20,643.80, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1pc to 3,384.33. Oil prices rose.

Traders have been focused on data out of China, where first-quarter gross domestic product, which measures the value of a nation’s products and services, rose a better-than-expected 4.5pc, according to official statistics. 

Wall Street ended higher on Monday after choppy trading as investors braced for a week packed with corporate first-quarter results, additional performance reports from heavyweight lenders, and further comments from Federal Reserve officials. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.3pc to 4,151.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3pc to 33,987.18, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3pc to 12,157.72.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose seven basis points to 3.59pc, while the two-year yield rose nine basis points to 4.19pc.