UK retail sales volumes unexpectedly jumped in March as consumers continued to show no sign of being phased by Brexit-related uncertainty, according to the official figures published on Thursday.

The Labour party would emerge as the biggest UK force in the European Parliament in British EU elections, according to new projections which show a surge in support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party.

Eurostar lost 110,000 passengers because of industrial action by French customs officers in March, according to Getlink, which operates the Channel tunnel rail infrastructure.

The eurozone’s manufacturing sector remains stuck in a rut as its two largest economies missed expectations and continued to contract in April, according to a closely watched survey of industry executives.

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever delivered 3.1 per cent underlying sales growth in the first quarter, ahead of expectations, helped by strong demand in Asia and for household products.

The increase in the UK energy price cap earlier this year led to a surge in the number of people switching supplier, according to price comparison site Moneysupermarket.

Nestlé, the world’s largest food manufacturer, got off to a good start to the year as sales of its Purina pet food and infant formula picked up, allowing it to confirm its annual targets. 

You could call it divine intervention. A Hong Kong-listed unit of Foxconn surged by almost 60 per cent on Thursday after the Taiwanese Apple supplier’s chairman launched a presidential bid.

Chinese coffee start-up Luckin has raised $150m from investors including US asset manager BlackRock in a funding round which values the company at $2.9bn, as it pushes to overtake Starbucks by number of outlets in China.

Indonesian stocks touched their highest level in more than a year and the country’s currency strengthened on Thursday after early indications put President Joko Widodo on track for re-election as the leader of Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Australia’s economy added more jobs than forecast in March, briefly sending the Australian dollar higher as expectations of a possible interest rate cut were pushed aside.

Japan’s manufacturing sector contracted for a third consecutive month in April as export demand remained weak on ongoing US-China trade tensions, according to a private survey.

Pinterest, the visual social media site that claims four out of five American mothers among its users, priced shares in its IPO at $19 late on Wednesday - above the range it had earlier indicated, but still 12 per cent below the price it achieved in a private share sale two years ago.

Zoom, the fast-growing US video conferencing start-up, priced shares in its initial public offering at $36 on Wednesday afternoon, according to two people with knowledge of the deal, above the increased range of $33 to $35 that it had indicated the day before.

Wall Street finished lower on Wednesday as healthcare stocks came under fire and weighed on sentiment that had been supported by largely positive earnings news in the US and robust economic data from China.

Bank of New York Mellon shares staged their biggest one-day drop in almost eight years after the company gave a disappointing outlook and its first-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Liberty House, the company run by metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta, has won EU approval to buy a number of steelworks from ArcelorMittal.

Commons Speaker John Bercow is facing another challenge to his position after a leading Conservative MP announced he is seeking support to table a motion of no-confidence.

French luxury group Kering said its star brand Gucci continued to drive performance in the first three months of the year, as the group recorded sales in line with analyst estimates.

The US exported more soyabeans to China in February than it did the year before, the first such rise since the two countries’ tariff war flared last year.

Qualcomm shares surged to their highest level since 2014 after the chipmaker announced an end to a long-running and expensive dispute with Apple, dragging a wider gauge of semiconductor stocks into record high territory.

The UK’s financial services watchdog is embarking on a wide-ranging examination of the future of regulation as the industry gears up for talks on the country’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

Citigroup has continued its real estate acquisition drive by buying its office building in Belfast, which is also another indication of the US bank’s commitment to the UK despite the uncertainties of Brexit.

Shareholders in Drax, the energy company that owns the UK’s biggest power plant, staged a protest over political donations and executive pay on Wednesday.