Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.6% to 6,890.00
  • Dow Average down 0.2% to 32,774.41
  • Aussie down 0.3% to 0.6964 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 2.0bps to 2.7755%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 0.3 bps to 2.94%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 2.9 bps to 3.18%
  • Gold spot up 0.3% to $1,794.42
  • Brent futures down 0.3% to $96.38/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$800 Million 1% 2031 Bonds

Asian stocks look set to fall Wednesday following a Wall Street retreat and as investors adopt cautious positions before US inflation data that will shape bets on how rapidly the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates.

Futures declined for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. US contracts fluctuated after the S&P 500 slipped for a fourth session. Micron Technology Inc. became the latest chipmaker to warn about demand, fanning economic concerns and spurring a Nasdaq 100 slide.

The two-year Treasury rate exceeded the 10-year by nearly 50 basis points Tuesday, a milestone last seen in 2000. The inversion is viewed as a sign of a looming recession under a campaign of Fed tightening to curb inflation.

A report Wednesday is expected to show headline US consumer-price inflation cooled but stayed elevated in July, while the core reading may have quickened on an annual basis. How the figures affect views on Fed tightening will be key for risk sentiment.

Other News

Italy’s longest river, Po, is a major resource for the entire country, but this summer, it’s been running dry as it faces its worst drought in 70 years. Water levels have gotten so low that a once-submerged artifact has been revealed – a 1,000-pound bomb from World War II.

The bomb was unexploded and found on July 25 near Borgo Virgilio. Colonel Marco Nasi told Reuters that fisherman found the bomb along the bank and that it was discovered because of the decrease in water levels from the drought.

According to Reuters, the bomb was manufactured in the U.S. and the army said it contained 530 pounds of explosive. It was destroyed about 30 miles away from where it was found.

Over the weekend, the army told Reuters that roughly 3,000 people living nearby were evacuated so that military experts could safely defuse the bomb in a controlled explosion on Sunday. The local airspace, waterway, railway line and state road all had to be temporarily closed for the procedure.