Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.5% to 7,417.00
  • Dow Average up 0.2% to 34,921.91
  • Aussie down 0.3% to 0.7491 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 2.3bps to 2.4530%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 19bps to 2.40%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 13bps to 2.90%
  • Gold spot down 2.0% to $1,919.02
  • Brent futures down 9.3% to $109.45/bbl

Economic Events

  • 9:30am: (AU) March ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer, prior 91.2
  • 11:30am: (AU) Feb. Retail Sales MoM, est. 0.9%, prior 1.8%

U.S. stocks climbed in afternoon trading in a rally underpinned by gains in megacaps and tech shares. Benchmark Treasuries reversed an earlier slide, while oil declined on China lockdown concerns.

The 10-year Treasury yield traded near 2.45%, from a session high of 2.55%. Earlier yields on five-year Treasuries rose above those on 30-year bonds, suggesting some investors expect an economic downturn. The dollar gained versus most of its major peers.

Other News

Millions of zombie crabs are currently migrating in massive swarms after a population boom.

The crabs have emerged early and in unprecedented swarms according to local residents around the Bay of Pigs, Cuba.

Following two years of Covid, the crab’s size and numbers have grown massively because they were allowed to cross normally busy roadways in peace.

After the island’s spring rains begin, millions of red, yellow and black crustaceans emerge at dawn and dusk and march from the forest across the road and down to Cuba’s southern coast to spawn in the sea.

Mass migration occurs after mating because females return to the sea to release their eggs to be hatched where the larvae live as plankton.

Zombie crabs get their unique name because they are the host organism for two species of flies who gain nutrients, shelter and movement from the crab.

These flies occupy the crustacean for most of their lives and are reluctant to leave.

They lay eggs around the crab’s eyes where the larvae migrate into their host and live there, feeding on naturally produced microbes.

Over time the larvae will move towards the crab’s gill chamber and then the mouthparts before falling to the ground to grow into fully grown flies.

Zombie crabs are commonly found in the Caribbean in countries such as Cuba and Barbados.

They are omnivorous scavengers and mostly feed on plants while their predators may include birds.