Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures little changed at 7,283.00
  • Dow Average up 0.3% to 35,061.21
  • Aussie down 0.6% to 0.6771 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 3.8bps to 3.7483%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 8.8 bps to 3.79%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 11 bps to 3.87%
  • Gold spot little changed at $1,977.17
  • Brent futures down 0.1% to $79.52/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 98-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 112-Day Bills
  • 11:30: (AU) 2Q NAB Business Confidence, prior -4
  • 11:30: (AU) June Full Time Employment Change, prior 61,700
  • 11:30: (AU) June Part Time Employment Change, prior 14,300
  • 11:30: (AU) June Employment Change, est. 15,000, prior 75,900
  • 11:30: (AU) June Participation Rate, est. 66.9%, prior 66.9%
  • 11:30: (AU) June Unemployment Rate, est. 3.6%, prior 3.6%

Asian stocks are poised for a cautious open as the US posted modest gains in a choppy session ahead of earnings from companies including Netflix Inc. and Tesla Inc.

Equity futures for Japan fell, while contracts for Australia were little changed. A reprieve from a two-day slide in Hong Kong may be in store, with equity futures pointing to a small gain. Meanwhile, an index of US-listed Chinese companies bounced back Wednesday from their worst day in almost a month.

The S&P 500 rose for a third day on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ended marginally lower and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its winning streak into an eighth day, the longest rally since September 2019. Apple Inc. advanced after Bloomberg reported on its efforts to build artificial intelligence tools, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ended in the green even after its profit slump stood in contrast to beats earlier in the week from peer investment firms.

In post-market trading, Netflix declined 5.58% as sales missed estimates and its third-quarter forecast also fell short. Tesla was modestly higher by 0.343% after earnings beat estimates. Profitability, though, shrank in the second quarter, a sign the electric-vehicle maker’s margins are being squeezed.

US Treasuries gained, spurred by a UK inflation report earlier in the session that sent guilt yields tumbling. Price pressures in Britain dropped to the lowest in 15 months, adding to evidence central banks can go easier on raising interest rates. However, gains across the Treasury curve eased following a spike in commodities including wheat after a warning from Russia that any ships to Ukraine would be seen as carrying arms.

The dollar rose against almost all of its Group of 10 counterparts, with the pound falling as much as 1.3% in the biggest intraday drop in more than four months. The yen and Aussie were also among the worst performers Wednesday.

In the US, new home construction retreated in June after surging a month earlier, while applications to build, a proxy for future construction, slipped, data Wednesday showed.

In Asia on Thursday, Japan’s trade deficit is expected to narrow last month as exports increased, while Australia is due to report jobs figures for June following an unexpected surge the prior month.

Other News

A first-generation iPhone sold at auction Sunday for $190,373, almost 380 times its original price of $499 when the groundbreaking device went for sale in 2007.

LCG Auctions, which hosted the sale, said the 4GB iPhone model was 20 times rarer than the 8GB model released at the same time for $599. That’s largely because the 4GB model was discontinued two months after launch given customer preference for the larger memory size.

“A new bar was set Sunday night,” said Mark Montero, the founder of LCG Auctions. “We are thrilled to be a part of this fantastic record breaking sale.”

It is the third original iPhone to sell for record prices at auction in the past year.

An 8GB model sold for $63,356 in February and another 8GB model fetched $39,340 in October 2022. All were factory sealed in their original packaging.

The iPhone is one of the world’s most successful electronic products and helped make Apple the first publicly held company with a $3 trillion market value. The Cupertino, California company reached that milestone 16 years after the first iPhones were sold.

(New York Post)