Durable goods orders were also published, showing new orders for US manufactured durable goods rose 1.7% month-over-month in May 2023, against expectations of a 1% decline. This follows a 1.2% rise in April. This is a good sign for the economy and shows that recession is not imminent.

The mood also improved after China's Premier Li Qiang said that the country's economic growth in the second quarter will be higher than the first. For the whole of 2023, authorities are forecasting a 5% growth. A the close on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1%.

British equities continued to rise this morning, trailing Wall Street, with the FTSE 100 up 0.4% at 9.30 am.

Sage Group was the biggest gainer, rising 4.0% after JP Morgan upgraded its recommendation to "overweight" from "neutral".

Today, investors will be focusing on the European Central Bank's panel discussion in Portugal, where Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will be taking with ECB President Christine Lagarde, Fed chair Jerome Powell and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Things to read today:

The last Brexit deal? Gibraltar fears a hard border with Spain (Financial Times)

Putin Steps Up Effort to Undercut Wagner Leader After Revolt (Bloomberg)