Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.6% to 7,309.00
  • Dow Average up 0.2% to 34,869.37
  • Aussie up 0.4% to 0.7288 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 3.5bps to 1.4871%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 0.8bps to 0.29%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 0.5bps to 1.41%
  • Gold spot little changed at $1,750.29
  • Brent futures up 1.7% to $79.41/bbl

Economic Events

  • 9:30am: (AU) Sept. ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer, prior 103.3
  • 11am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$100 Million 2.5% 2030 Bonds
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Retail Sales MoM, est. -2.5%, prior -2.7%

Asia stocks are set to open mixed after a jump in Treasury yields weighed on U.S. equities and oil extended a rally spurred by supply concerns.
Futures fell for Japan and Australia, while Hong Kong contracts rose. Investors rotated out of growth stocks as the benchmark 10-year U.S. yield briefly topped 1.5% — a level not seen since June. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperformed. The S&P 500 dipped, though economically sensitive companies advanced — like energy, financial and smaller firms.
Oil continued its gains on fears of a global energy crunch. Brent rose to the highest in nearly three years, while WTI crude climbed above $75 a barrel. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Brent could hit $90 by year-end as the market is in a bigger deficit than many realise. The spike in yields added to concerns about lofty equity valuations, particularly in the tech industry, which has powered the bull-market rally. Traders are bracing for the Federal Reserve to start tapering asset purchases as early as November following a more hawkish tilt. Investors have had to contend with a series of risks in recent weeks, including cracks in the Chinese property sector.

Other News

The New Zealand government is in talks with fast food brands like KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut about offering customers COVID-19 vaccines with their meals.
Auckland, the country’s largest city, eased a harsh five-week lockdown on Tuesday, allowing fast food restaurants to restart delivery services and socially-distanced sales. Last month the entire country went into a full national lockdown over one COVID-19 case.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is keen to boost the country’s vaccination rate, and the government is considering partnering with fast food brands to make that happen.
On Wednesday, Auckland Councillor Josephine Bartley tweeted that Restaurant Brands, the company behind KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr., and Taco Bell in New Zealand, was speaking to the government about a partnership.
“We want to make sure we’re going to where people are,” Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Radio New Zealand on Thursday.
“We know that a lot of Aucklanders are going to be really excited about getting their takeaway fix and could we use that possibility?”
Robertson said, however, that there could be issues getting people to wait for 20 minutes after their vaccination due to the time pressures of drive-thru outlets.
Ardern said Thursday that she hoped to drop strict lockdown measures for good and wanted a 90% vaccination rate to do so. As of Thursday, 40% of people were fully vaccinated and 75% have had one dose, according to government statistics.