Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.2% to 7,456.00
  • Dow Average down 0.1% to 35,312.53
  • Aussie up 0.7% to 0.7366 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 1.4bps to 1.2953%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 5bps to 0.29%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 9bps to 1.24%
  • Gold spot little changed at $1,814.03
  • Brent futures down 0.4% to $71.31/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 84-Day Bills
  • 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 203-Day Bills
  • 11:30am: (AU) July Investor Loan Value MoM, prior 0.7%
  • 11:30am: (AU) July Home Loans Value MoM, est. -0.2%, prior -1.6%
  • 11:30am: (AU) July Owner-Occupier Loan Value MoM, est. -3.0%, prior -2.5%
  • 11:30am: (AU) July Exports MoM, est. 3%, prior 4%
  • 11:30am: (AU) July Imports MoM, est. 2%, prior 1%
  • 11:30am: (AU) July International Trade Balance, est. A$10b, prior A$10.5b

Asian stocks look set for a steady open Thursday after large U.S. technology shares climbed in a defensive tilt to the Wall Street rally. The dollar slipped to about a three-week low.
Futures climbed in Japan and Hong Kong, but fell in Australia. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 edged up to a record while the S&P 500 was little changed amid mixed data suggesting a slower labor market recovery. Google parent Alphabet Inc. dipped in extended trading on the risk of a second antitrust lawsuit. U.S. equity contracts fluctuated.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields retreated below 1.30%. Traders are awaiting key U.S. jobs data Friday for more clues on the economic outlook and the likely timeline for a reduction in Federal Reserve pandemic-era stimulus.

Other News

A group of eight Ukrainian strongmen athletes on Thursday pulled the world’s largest and heaviest cargo plane, the “Mriya” Antonov-225.
Pulling the plane in two groups of four, the men managed to move the plane 4.3 meters along the tarmac, within 1 minute and 13 seconds. The feat set a national record for the fewest number of people pulling the plane. In 2013, 10 men pulled the plane.
A representative of Ukraine’s national record book said they would apply for a Guinness world record entry.
The Mriya plane is the only one of its kind in use and can carry up to 250 tonnes and travel for up to 4,000 km (2,485 miles).
Mriya, built in the Soviet Union in 1988, was developed to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle or other heavy cargo. The Buran program was shut down after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the plane was left on the territory of independent Ukraine.