Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.5% to 6,935.00
  • Dow Average up 0.2% to 32,969.23
  • Aussie down 0.3% to 0.6908 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 6.0bps to 3.1057%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 2.2 bps to 3.24%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 5 bps to 3.63%
  • Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,751.56
  • Brent futures up 1.5% to $101.75/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 56-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 91-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$500 Million 154-Day Bills

Futures signaled firm starts for bourses in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. US contracts climbed in the wake of modest S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gains.

A index of US-listed Chinese shares hit a one-week high on Wednesday, lifted by Beijing’s plan for more steps to shore up an economy stricken by property-sector woes, Covid curbs and some power shortages.

Market anxiety ahead of Powell’s comments is centered on whether he will rebut expectations that slowing growth will temper monetary tightening in the next phase of the campaign against high inflation.

Treasuries slid against that backdrop, pushing the two-year yield up toward 3.40%, and a dollar gauge drifted higher. Crude oil added to a rally that could feed into renewed jitters about whether price pressures have peaked.

Other News

Idaho, United States: A man in the US broke a Guinness World Record by using just his nose to inflate 10 balloons in 60 seconds — or a minute.

David Rush, who expects to break 250 Guinness World Records this year, is closing in on his milestone one achievement at a time.

Rush says he first took a crack at the “nose balloon inflation world record” five years ago, but cold and allergy seasons kept him from surpassing the previous official record of nine balloons.

For his attempt to be considered legitimate, Guinness rules required the STEM education crusader to inflate each balloon with the nose, tie it off and out his hands – all by the end of the 60 seconds time period.

Rush successfully broke the Guinness World Record for most balloons inflated by the nose in one minute after he blew up 10 balloons within the stipulated time.