Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.1% to 7,333.00
  • Dow Average little changed at 33,808.96
  • Aussie down 0.7% to 0.6699 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 3.9bps to 3.5718%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 4 bps to 3.13%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 3.5 bps to 3.46%
  • Gold spot down 1.1% to $1,983.06
  • Brent futures up 0.7% to $81.66/bbl

Economic Events

US equity futures edge lower and the dollar is mixed against its major peers as investors prepare for a busy week of economic data that will help illuminate the path forward for interest rates.

Futures contracts for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both fell in early Asian trading, as did those for benchmarks in Australian and Hong Kong. Those in Japan gained. The yen strengthened versus all except one of its Group-of-10 counterparts.

Monday’s moves follow a muted end to trading last week. Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to the outlook for Federal Reserve policy, rose eight basis points in the week and US stocks ended the week with mild declines.

Swaps market expectations for Fed interest rates to peak the coming weeks before a series of cuts later this year were largely unchanged.

Those forecasts may shift rapidly this week. US GDP data is forecast to reveal slowing growth, while the so-called core PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to show a cooling in prices growth. The central bank’s favored wages gauge is expected to show worker pay accelerated, according to forecasts from Bloomberg Economics.

Other News

Australia will make it easier for New Zealanders living in the country to gain citizenship, in a further step toward closer ties between the neighboring countries.

New Zealanders living in Australia will be able to apply directly for citizenship without becoming permanent residents first, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement Saturday. The change will be effective from July 1, and partly reverses a 2001 decision that made it harder for New Zealanders to attain Australian citizenship.

“This is a fair change for New Zealanders living in Australia, and brings their rights more in line with Australians living in New Zealand,” according to the statement. “This is consistent with our ambition to build a fairer, better managed and more inclusive migration system.”

The government estimates the pathway will be available to about 350,000 New Zealanders living in Australia who arrived after 2001, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

(Bloomberg)