Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.2% to 7,226.00
  • Dow Average down 0.1% to 33,919.84
  • Aussie down 0.3% to 0.7230 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 1.1bps to 1.3226%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 2bps to 0.22%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 3bps to 1.27%
  • Gold spot up 0.6% to $1,774.32
  • Brent futures up 0.9% to $74.60/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:15am: (AU) RBA’s Debelle, Berkelmans Appear Before Parliament Committee
  • 10:30am: (AU) Aug. Westpac Leading Index MoM, prior -0.11%
  • 11am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 4.25% 2026 Bonds
  • 12pm: (AU) RBA’s Bullock Speech at Bloomberg Event

Asian stocks look set for a steady initial start Wednesday as traders evaluate the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group and gird for a Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to telegraph a reduction in stimulus.
Futures for Japan and Australia edged down. China resumes trading later in the morning after a two-day holiday, while Hong Kong is shut. Dip-buying waned in the U.S. session, leaving the S&P 500 little changed. U.S. contracts fell early in the Asian morning.
Cash-strapped developer Evergrande missed some interest payments due Monday and investors are awaiting clues about how Beijing plans to deal with the situation. That includes monitoring the daily open-market operations by the central bank to see if officials are seeking to reduce systemic stress.
The dollar was little changed and Treasuries dipped ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting. Elsewhere, Bitcoin slid below $40,000 for the first time since early August before rebounding.

Other News

Your Fitbit could end one of the biggest arguments couples have in bed—whether one of them is snoring like a chainsaw.
The company has confirmed that its Sense and Versa 3 models are being rolled out with a microphone-powered ‘Snore & Noise Detect’ feature that indicates if the wearer or their bedmate is sawing logs.
The feature, first reported by 9to5Google, requires users to activate it on their device’s ‘Sleep’ page.
It will then record data on ‘snore-specific noises’ as well as the overall noise level in the room.
Once your Fitbit detects you’re in La La Land, its microphone will ‘sample, measure and collect information about the noise in your environment … ‘every few seconds.’
Detecting snoring could be the first step to addressing serious health issues like sleep apnea—and possibly saving your marriage.
However, privacy advocates are unsure of the features motive and sees it as another revenue stream for Fitbit, which could sell data to advertisers.