Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.2% to 7,460.00
- Dow Average up 0.1% to 35,405.50
- Aussie up 0.3% to 0.7277 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield rose 5.1bps to 1.3457%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 2bps to 0.24%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 0.7bps to 1.16%
- Gold spot down 0.7% to $1,790.35
- Brent futures up 1.4% to $72.01/bbl
Economic Events
- 9:55am: (AU) RBA’s Connolly Speech Online to Conference
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 182-Day Bills
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 91-Day Bills
- 11:30am: (AU) Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia (for July 31)
- 11:30am: (AU) 2Q Private Capital Expenditure, est. 2.6%, prior 6.3%
Asian stocks are set for a mixed start Thursday as traders await more clues about the regulatory outlook in China as well as the Federal Reserve’s approach to paring stimulus.
Futures rose in Japan but dipped in Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged up to records. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting, which may offer fresh insight on how the Fed intends to scale back bond purchases. The dollar was little changed.
The rebound in Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. fizzled. Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on private industries is continuing to color sentiment and complicate the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.
Crude oil held around $68 a barrel after a rally this week on bets that demand will weather the delta virus variant’s impact on the economic recovery.
Other News
A towering corpse flower has released its pungent odour in full bloom at Vancouver’s Bloedel Conservatory for the second time in three years.
The Vancouver Park Board says the nearly two-metre-tall plant — dubbed “Uncle Fester” — blossomed late Wednesday evening, releasing its trademark fetid stench.
The titan arum plant, native to the Sumatra region in Indonesia, has been described as smelling like “rotten flesh, with notes of old fish and decayed cabbage” when its flower emerges.
It usually only blooms once every 10 years, to attract pollinators in the form of flesh flies and carrion beetles, but can release its caustic whiff every two years in cultivation.
“We are thrilled to see Uncle Fester bloom and be able to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with the world,” said Cynthia Sayre, curator of collections at the Vancouver Park Board.
Uncle Fester, obtained from a botanical garden in North Carolina in 2016, first subjected Vancouverites to its putrid stink in 2018.
