A group of Hong Kong stocks have lost more than $6bn in a series of mysterious plunges that left the worst of the fallers down 95 per cent – and 13 of them down more than 50 per cent.

The Bank of England has put lenders on notice that they will have to build a special buffer worth £11.4bn over the next 18 months as it tries to make them more resilient to risks such as a burgeoning consumer-credit sector.

Shares in gambling software group Playtech fell back from the record highs hit at the end of last week after its founder announced he would sell the majority of his remaining holding in the company.

The euro has leapt to its strongest point of the day after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi signalled growing confidence in the eurozone recovery and rising inflation.

“The threat of deflation is gone and reflationary forces are at play,” he said in a speech in Sintra.

Michael Fallon, the UK Defence Secretary, has said the UK will support any US action against Syria to prevent chemical weapons attacks – and said the UK is using cyber warfare to help the battle against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The consolidation of the Spanish banking sector continues apace, after state-controlled Bankia agreed to take over BMN, another nationalised lender, in a deal that values the smaller entity at €825m.

Ahead of this morning’s numbers from Debenhams and Carpetright, a number of publications told investors what to expect. Can you spot the odd one out? “Debenhams and Carpetright to provide snapshots of hard-pressed UK retail sector”. “Updates from high street as pressure ramps up on the sector”. “Debenhams to show high street health.”

Yes, you can always rely on upbeat Daily Express sub-editors to look on the bright side of Brexit. Even if it bears absolutely no resemblance to reality (in fairness, the report accompanying that cleverly disingenuous headline told it like it is.) And, this morning, it is like this: Debenhams has reported a 2.4 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the past quarter, while Carpetright has said its statutory pre-tax profit was flattened to £0.9m.

Stocks are falling across the UK high street retailers this morning, after a downbeat trading update from department store chain Debenhams further stoked fears about a slowdown in UK consumer spending.

Rising inflation helped British supermarkets to their fastest rate of sales growth in five years over the last three months, but discount retailers and cheaper non-branded products continued to see the strongest rises, highlighting the impact that rising prices are having on spending habits.

Major currencies have been given a boost courtesy a dip in the US dollar as European trading got underway on Tuesday.

The tortuous sale of Toshiba’s memory chip unit looks like it may still have at least one more twist left in it, with Western Digital resubmitting a bid with KKR for the Japanese conglomerate’s most prized asset.

The second half of the year is going to be crucial for Petrofac, the UK oilfield services company that is under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office.

Carpetright says it’s on track, despite a plunge in profits and a near-halving in sales growth.

Sales fell at Debenhams during the past three months and the department store chain became the latest UK retailer to warn about the potential impact of an economic slowdown, saying there was a risk “market volatility” could hit profits.

Travis Perkins has appointed a new chairman.

Heineken has offered to sell dozens of pubs from the Punch Taverns estate it is in the process of purchasing, in an effort to allay concerns about the impact the £403m deal will have on competition.

The White House has warned the Syrian regime that it will pay a “heavy price” for any chemical weapons attack after Washington detected what it said were preparations for such an operation.

Arconic, the US company that produced the cladding panels in place on London’s Grenfell Tower when it was gutted by fire, has said it will stop selling the flammable version of the tiles for use in high-rise buildings.

The world’s super-rich have become wealthier over the past 12 months, reversing a decline in 2016 when billionaires saw their fortunes hit by fluctuating stock markets and global uncertainty.

Vitamin maker Blackmores was one of the worst performers in the Australian stock market after it announced its chief executive was leaving to take up the top job at the country’s postal service.

The South Korean won strengthened on Tuesday as data showed consumer confidence in the country hit a six-year high.

Asia Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday as oil prices firmed following a choppy previous session.

Shares in SoftBank recovered some poise after dipping in mid-morning trade following a report Sprint, the Japanese conglomerate’s US mobile business, had entered into exclusive talks with Charter Communications and Comcast to provide them with access to its network.

Nintendo’s stock dipped as much as 1.8 per cent on Tuesday after the company revealed the SNES Classic, a follow-up to its wildly popular NES Classic.