Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.6% to 7,327.00
  • Dow Average up 0.2% to 33,128.79
  • Aussie up 0.6% to 0.7095 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 1.1bps to 2.9712%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 19bps to 3.01%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 14bps to 3.40%
  • Gold spot up 0.3% to $1,867.91
  • Brent futures down 1.5% to $105.96/bbl

Economic Events

  • 9am: (AU) April S&P Global Australia PMI Servi, prior 56.6
  • 9am: (AU) April S&P Global Australia PMI Compo, prior 56.2
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Investor Loan Value MoM, est. -2.5%, prior -1.8%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Owner-Occupier Loan Value MoM, est. -2.5%, prior -4.7%
  • 11:30am: (AU) 1Q Retail Sales Ex Inflation QoQ, est. 1.0%, prior 8.2%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Home Loans Value MoM, est. -1.9%, prior -3.7%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Retail Sales MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 1.8%

Stocks faced another volatile session, with traders awaiting more clues on whether the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off a soft landing that brings down inflation without triggering a recession.

After several twists and turns, the S&P 500 closed higher, led by gains in economically sensitive shares like commodity producers and banks. Small caps also climbed, while technology companies underperformed. Treasury 10-year yields stabilized amid speculation that the worst of the bond-market selloff may be over even though the Fed’s monetary-policy tightening is only just getting underway. The dollar fell.

Markets have whipsawed amid concerns about persistent inflationary spirals and risks to global growth from rising yields. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are expected to raise rates by 50 basis points Wednesday and signal they’re on track to lift them to around 2.5% by the end of the year. It’s not clear, though, if that’ll be enough to tame inflation, which is running above the central bank’s target.

The Fed will have to boost rates to as much as 5% just as the world faces a “perfect storm” of potential recessions in the U.S., European Union and China, former International Monetary Fund chief economist Kenneth Rogoff said. Bond markets will continue to face pressures from inflation and tighter monetary policy, making stocks a better bet during this stage of the economic cycle, Pacific Investment Management Co.noted in its May asset-allocation outlook.

Other News

A Dollar Tree manager is no longer with the company after posting a sign at a Bremen, Indiana, store warning that it wouldn’t hire Generation Z workers. The sign complained that the store was forced to close after two young workers quit.

“My 2 new cashiers quit because I said their boyfriends couldn’t stand here for their entire shift,” according to a photo of the hand-written note posted to social media. “Don’t hire Gen Z’s. They don’t know what work actually means. NOW HIRING. Baby boomers ONLY. Thanks.”

Citing privacy reasons, Dollar Tree didn’t disclose whether the employee, who wasn’t identified, left on their own volition or was fired.

“Of course, we do NOT have a policy against hiring Gen Z workers. We absolutely do not,” Randy Guiler, vice president of investor relations at Dollar Tree, told CBS MoneyWatch in an email.

Members of Gen Z are people born between 1997 and 2012, or those who are now 10 to 25 years old. More employers are turning to younger workers to fill their staffing gaps, with US. teenagers last year experiencing their best year for summer employment since 1953.

The incident comes as many employers around the U,.S. are scrambling for workers. There are almost two job openings for every unemployed American, which is giving workers more leverage with employers. Some workers are jumping ship for better pay and conditions elsewhere.

(CBS News)