Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures down 1.5% to 7,168.00
- Dow Average down 1.6% to 33,290.08
- Aussie down 0.9% to 0.7483 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield fell 6.7bps to 1.4381%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 6bps to 0.43%
- Australia 10-year bond yield fell 5bps to 1.60%
- Gold spot down 0.5% to $1,764.16
- Brent futures up 0.6% to $73.51/bbl
Economic Events
Equity futures pointed lower in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 slid Friday, when commodities such as copper dropped and the dollar touched a two-month high on the prospect of less accommodative U.S. monetary policy. The flattening of the Treasury yield curve was another illustration of the retreat in reflation bets, a trade that had dominated markets this year. The 10-year yield declined to 1.44%, and short-maturity yields surged after Fed official James Bullard said inflation risks may warrant higher interest rates next year, an earlier liftoff than penciled in by many of his colleagues.
Other News
Avocado farmer Mark Alcock has motion-activated infrared cameras dotting 170 acres of groves that send intruder alerts to his phone. The beeps typically wake him at least once an hour, every night. It’s usually bush pigs, porcupines or baboons. “But there’s always that chance it’ll be someone coming to steal,” he said. “It’s just getting out of hand.” The cameras are part of an elaborate antitheft system that includes a rapid-response team run by an ex-military man and expert in tracker dogs. South Africa is the world’s sixth-largest avocado exporter, and farmers like Mr. Alcock are entangled in a cat-and-mouse game with fruit thieves who abscond with thousands of pounds at a time.
