Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.4% to 7,876.00
- Dow Average up 0.3% to 40,003.59
- Aussie up 0.2% to 0.6695 per US$
- US 10-year yield rose 4.6bps to 4.4198%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 0.8 bps to 3.85%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 2.4 bps to 4.21%
- Gold spot up 1.6% to $2,415.22
- Brent futures up 0.9% to $83.98/bbl
Economic Events
Asian stocks are set to climb in early trading after US equities notched a fresh record amid resilient corporate earnings and China took steps to shore up its property market.
Equity futures in Australia, Hong Kong and mainland China point to early gains when trading resumes Monday, while contracts in Japan nudged lower. US stock futures edged higher after the benchmark S&P 500 Index rose on Friday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 40,000 for the first time in its 128-year history.
Traders on Monday will be looking to China following Beijing’s attempt to rescue the nation’s beleaguered property market, even as concerns linger that the measures may be too small. They’ll also be watching for signs of an escalation in trade rhetoric with Europe. The recent rally in China stocks has spilled over into Asian shares, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index having climbed for six straight days, matching its longest win streak this year.
While Chinese financial stability risks have been watered down, “the key variable is whether economic fundamentals also turn more favorable as it’s still not clear how the central government plans to reach that ‘about 5%’ growth target”, said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne. “However in the near term, given how depressed valuations and sentiment was, there’s plenty of room for further upside in Chinese indices.”
US stocks edged higher Friday as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the VIX — slid below 12 to the lowest since November 2019 after a week of soft economic data affirmed expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower policy rates later this year.
