Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.5% to 7,308.00
  • Dow Average up 2.8% to 34,061.06
  • Aussie up 2.3% to 0.7256 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 4.0bps to 2.9324%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 11bps to 3.13%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 15bps to 3.54%
  • Gold spot up 0.7% to $1,881.54
  • Brent futures up 4.7% to $109.95/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:30am: (AU) March Private Sector Houses MoM, prior 16.5%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Exports MoM, est. 3%, prior 0%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Imports MoM, est. -4%, prior 12%
  • 11:30am: (AU) March International Trade Balance, est. A$8.4b, prior A$7.46b
  • 11:30am: (AU) March Building Approvals MoM, est. -12.0%, prior 43.5%

A surge in U.S. stocks and bonds bolstered the outlook for Asia Thursday amid a bout of investor relief after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected while easing fears of super-sized hikes.

Futures rose for Australia and Hong Kong following a 3% jump in the S&P 500, the biggest since 2020. The retreat in two-year Treasury yields was among the sharpest since the pandemic’s onset as traders scaled back Fed-hike bets. The dollar sank against major peers, with Australia’s currency leading the gains.

Other News

There’s finding a career, and then there’s finding a company you stick with for so long it breaks a world record, as Walter Orthmann of Brazil broke the world record for longest tenure at the same company, all while turning 100 years old.

Born in the small Brazilian town of Brusque on April 19, 1922, Orthmann wanted to get a job when he was 15 to help with family with financial problems, according to Guinness World Records.

Because of his proficiency in German, he was hired as a shipping assistant for the textile company Industrias Renaux S.A., now known as ReneauxView, on Jan. 17, 1938. Soon after, he was promoted to a position in sales and then became a sales manager, a position he has held ever since.

Now, he has been with the company for more than 84 years. It was verified on Jan. 6, giving him the Guinness World Record for the longest career in the same company.

Labeling this record his “proudest achievement,” Orthmann said that what pushed him toward making history was focusing on the present.

(USA Today)