China’s economy slumps as zero-Covid takes its toll – live updates

China’s economy slumps as zero-Covid takes its toll – live updates

T he FTSE 100 has pushed higher at the open despite data showing a slowdown in China's economy. The blue-chip index rose 0.3pc to 7,059 points. E lsewhere, Aston Martin has revealed it rejected a £1.3bn investment proposal from a group of backers including Chinese car giant Geely. The luxury car maker said the approach from Geely and European group Investindutrial "markedly overestimated" its new funding requirements, would have heavily diluted existing shareholders and been difficult to execute. Geely holds a stake in Volvo and manufactures electric vehicles through brands including Polestar. It came as Aston confirmed plans to raise £653m from investors including Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. The Public Investment Fund will take a 17pc stake in the company. Other funding comes from chairman Lawrence Stroll's Yew Tree Consortium and Mercedes-Benz. Read more: Saudi Arabia gets board seat at Aston Martin as it injects £200m W hile the official data showed an expansion in GDP, several high-frequency indicators suggest activity actually shrank in the quarter. Travel data showed passenger trips taken on China’s roads were mostly below last year’s levels into July, while car purchases, which make up about a tenth of monthly retail sales, fell more than