House prices have suffered their worst fall in 11 years

House prices fell again as confidence in the real estate market continues to decline.

The average house was worth £257,406 in February, down 0.5% on the previous month

5 things to start your day

1) British electric van champion hit with legal threat over unpaid bill | Arrival forced to fend off liquidation bid amid collapsing share price

2) Sainsbury’s is closing its Milton Keynes office after flexible working leaves 90% of offices empty | Supermarket giant closes office and announces plans to close two warehouses in Argos

3) Looming risk for landlords as buy-to-let inquiry launched | Consumer protection for renters will be considered a further blow to landlords

4) Shapps is calling for coal plants to stay open for another year | Facilities at Britain’s three remaining coal-fired power stations were scheduled to close in 2022

5) Selfridge’s owners are saddled with £1.7bn of debt | Long borrowing against Oxford Street indicates a strategy aimed at maximizing returns

What happened in the night

Asian shares have rebounded from a two-month low and are heading for their best day in seven weeks.

China’s manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in more than a decade, according to new data, injecting optimism into previously gloomy markets.

China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 52.6 last month from 50.1 in January and was well ahead of analysts’ forecast of 50.5, giving investors hope that China’s recovery may offset the global slowdown.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 1.5 percent to clear a two-month low hit in early trading hours ahead of the data release.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 3.2 percent, with developer and consumer technology stocks leading and only two stocks falling. Chinese stocks also got a boost, with China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index jumping more than 1%.

Japanese shares rebounded from earlier losses to close higher, with the Nikkei 225 climbing 0.3 percent to end at 27,516.53, while the broader Topix gained 0.2 percent to 1,997.81.

Wall Street stocks fell in choppy trading after new survey data showed consumer confidence slipped in February on concerns about future employment and business conditions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.7% at 32,656.70. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 3,970.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.1 percent to 11,455.54.

The yield on the 10-year note rose 1.6 basis points to 3.938%, meaning yields on the benchmark rose 50 basis points in February.