Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.4% to 7,403.00
- Dow Average down 0.4% to 35,938.84
- Aussie down 0.4% to 0.7296 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield little changed at 1.5493%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 12bps to 1.01%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 8bps to 1.81%
- Gold spot up 0.7% to $1,863.17
- Brent futures up 0.2% to $82.79/bbl
Economic Events
- 11am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 0.25% 2025 Bonds
U.S. equities pared back a rebound Thursday after a selloff in the previous session due to fears high inflation could spur tighter monetary policy. The U.S. cash Treasury market was closed for a holiday.
Investors are bracing for changes in monetary policy sooner rather than later after higher-than-expected consumer prices dealt a blow to arguments inflation is transitory. Persistently high inflation could force the Federal Reserve to taper at a more substantial rate or hike interest rates faster than anticipated. At the same time, equities are hovering near all-time highs as strong earnings and economic growth prospects have propelled the stock market higher. Oil struggled for direction as investors weighed the odds that the White House will intervene to cool prices. Gold approached a five-month high.
Other News
Mexico City has set a world record for free Wi-Fi access thanks to thousands of public internet access points across the capital, Guinness World Records announced Wednesday.
Official adjudicator Carlos Tapia presented the award for the most hotspots — 21,500 — in a single free urban Wi-Fi network to Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
The access points are spread across the sprawling city of some nine million people, particularly in public transport, although at times the network can become saturated.
When schools closed for more than a year during the Covid-19 pandemic, some students turned to the service to take part in online classes.
Sheinbaum said that the aim was to make internet access a right for all, in particular disadvantaged families with no connection at home.
