Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures down 1.3% to 7,028.00
- Dow Average down 1.1% to 33,234.40
- Aussie up 0.2% to 0.7235 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield rose 3.7bps to 1.9773%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 8bps to 1.71%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 7bps to 2.27%
- Gold spot up 0.5% to $1,907.41
- Brent futures down 0.3% to $96.51/bbl
Economic Events
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 119-Day Bills
- 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 91-Day Bills
- 11:30am: (AU) 4Q Private Capital Expenditure, est. 2.5%, prior -2.2%
U.S. equities fell Wednesday as U.S. President Joe Biden expanded sanctions against Russia, with new penalties hitting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and its corporate officers.
The S&P 500 shed 1.8%, pushing further into correction territory, as technology stocks sold off amid the rising tensions and a cyberattack on several Ukraine government and bank websites. Treasuries extended losses and the dollar was little changed.
Other News
An Israeli farmer has grown the world’s heaviest strawberry – according to Guinness World Records.
At 289 grams, the strawberry was about five times the average weight of a regular berry of the local Ilan variety, said Dr Nir Dai, a researcher at Israel’s Volcani Institute in Bet-Dagan, near Tel-Aviv, where the strain was developed.
This strawberry was grown by Chahi Ariel’s family business “Strawberries in the Field”, located in the Kadima-Zoran region of central Israel.
The fruit, which has been confirmed as the world’s heaviest strawberry, was 18 cm long, 4 cm thick and 34 cm in circumference.
Mr Ariel had been hoping he would be crowned the winner when he saw how big the fruit was growing on his family farm last year.
He has been waiting for confirmation it was a record while keeping the giant strawberry in the freezer as proof.
