Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures little changed at 7,767.00
- Dow Average up 0.8% to 39,134.76
- Aussie down 0.3% to 0.6656 per US$
- US 10-year yield rose 3.7bps to 4.2594%
- Australia 3-year bond yield rose 1.8 bps to 3.91%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 2.4 bps to 4.20%
- Gold spot up 1.4% to $2,360.06
- Brent futures up 0.7% to $85.64/bbl
Economic Events
- 09:00: (AU) June Judo Bank Australia PMI Mfg, prior 49.7
- 09:00: (AU) June Judo Bank Australia PMI Servic, prior 52.5
- 09:00: (AU) June Judo Bank Australia PMI Compos, prior 52.1
- 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$700 Million 1.5% 2031 Bonds
Most Asian equity markets were poised to drop as US stocks fell amid signs of buyer fatigue after a rally to record highs. The yen was in focus ahead of inflation data that could draw a line under a six-day slump.
Futures for benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong pointed to declines while contracts for Australia were little changed. A 1% drop in the Golden Dragon index of US-listed Chinese companies may also weigh on sentiment.
The S&P 500 briefly topped 5,500 on Thursday before losing traction, while the high-flying tech group powering the bull run came under pressure. The Nasdaq 100 slipped after a seven-day advance with Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. leading losses in megacaps.
After coming close to erasing this year’s losses, Treasuries fell despite data that mostly pointed to economic softening. New home construction slumped to the slowest pace in four years and the Philadelphia Fed Index trailed estimates. US initial jobless claims were little changed. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the central bank will return inflation to 2%, but estimated it will likely take a year or two to do so.
Other News
Shares of Guzman y Gomez Ltd., a Mexican-themed fast-food chain, jumped 36% in their first day of trading in Australia, marking the country’s best debut in years.
The stock ended at A$30 in Sydney on Thursday. The shares were sold at A$22 apiece in an initial public offering that was enlarged to A$335.1 million. They posted the biggest gain for an Australian IPO debut larger than $100 million since 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Guzman y Gomez’s debut injects some activity in Australia’s market for new share sales, which has hosted only three IPOs topping $100 million over the past two years. It’s the nation’s biggest since chemical distributor Redox Ltd. nearly one year ago, Bloomberg-compiled data show.
“There are quite a few IPOs that have been in the pipeline, but because of low confidence,” investors have been hesitant, said Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney. Guzman y Gomez’s debut performance may encourage IPOs slated for later this year to list sooner, she said.
Prior to Guzman y Gomez, companies that started trading in the country over the past five years after IPOs that raised at least $100 million rose by an average 4.4% in their inaugural session, the data show.
Barrenjoey Markets Pty Ltd. and Morgan Stanley Australia Ltd. were joint lead managers in the offering.
(Bloomberg)
