Here are some of the the top business stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe and abroad:

Sainsbury’s get squashed

Roughly £1bn was wiped off the value of Sainsbury’s this morning as it seemed the planned Sainsbury’s-Asda takeover deal had gone rotten.

The UK government’s top competition watchdog – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – ruled on Wednesday morning that the proposed grocery deal would be bad for shoppers and push up prices. The regulator has the ability to block the £7.3bn takeover, which was designed to create a massive shopping giant with enough heft to challenge industry leader Tesco (TSCO.L).

“The proposed deal could lead to a worse experience for in-store and online shoppers across the UK through higher prices, a poorer shopping experience, and reductions in the range and quality of products offered,” the CMA said in a written statement.

The regulator said it was “likely to be difficult for the companies to address the concerns it has identified”.

A final CMA ruling on the deal is expected by the end of April.

Shares in Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) fell by about 16% after the decision, putting it at the bottom of the FTSE 100 index (^FTSE). The company’s market capitalisation fell to £5.37bn from £6.34bn within a matter of minutes.

Shares in American retail giant Walmart (WMT), which owns Asda, were not making any big moves in premarket trading.

Sainsbury said it disagreed with the CMA’s findings, and Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe called the report “outrageous” in an interview with the BBC.

Lloyds gets a lift

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) shrugged off mounting concerns over Brexit to unveil a £4bn dividend and share buyback bonanza for investors on Wednesday. The move helped push Lloyds shares up by about 3% in morning trading, despite the bank’s weaker than expected growth in profits in 2018.

Britain’s biggest mortgage lender posted a 24% rise in net profits, but that was below analyst expectations.

The bank’s bumper payout and confident tone on the economy struck a contrast with rivals Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L).

European stock market overview

European stock markets posted modest gains on Wednesday morning , with Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) leading the way with a 0.4% lift. France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) was up by about 0.2% and Britain’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was edging up by 0.1%

This comes after most Asian markets were positive on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (^HSI) was a standout performer with a 1% jump.

US stock futures were dipping slightly ahead of the opening bell, though the moves were quite small.

With files from Reuters