Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures little changed at 7,763.00
  • Dow Average down 0.4% to 39,357.01
  • Aussie up 0.1% to 0.6586 per US$
  • US 10-year yield fell 3.4bps to 3.9054%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 1.1 bps to 3.67%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 1.1 bps to 4.05%
  • Gold spot up 1.7% to $2,472.39
  • Brent futures up 2.8% to $81.93/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Aug. Westpac Consumer Conf Index, prior 82.7
  • 10:30: (AU) Aug. Westpac Consumer Conf SA MoM, prior -1.1%
  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$100M 1.25% 2040 Inflation-Linked Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) 2Q Wage Price Index QoQ, est. 0.9%, prior 0.8%
  • 11:30: (AU) 2Q Wage Price Index YoY, est. 4.0%, prior 4.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) July NAB Business Confidence, prior 4
  • 11:30: (AU) July NAB Business Conditions, prior 4

Asian stocks are poised to edge higher following a listless session in US stocks, as geopolitical developments along with memories of last week’s panic selling curbed the appetite for risk.

Futures show benchmarks in Tokyo and Hong Kong will gain in early trading, while Sydney stocks look flat. With traders still reeling from last Monday’s wild gyrations, many investors are refraining from making big bets as they await more signals about the health of the world’s largest economy, including key inflation figures due Wednesday.

Oil retreated Tuesday after hitting $80, while Treasuries gained, as the US believes an Iranian attack against Israel is increasingly likely. Israel’s sovereign debt was cut by one notch by Fitch Ratings, which kept a negative outlook on the credit as continued military conflict weighs on the country’s public finances.

The S&P 500 closed steady around 5,345. Most major groups fell, though tech, energy and utilities gained. The Russell 2000 of small caps extended its August slide to 8.5%. The Cboe Volatility Index — the VIX — edged mildly higher — after an unprecedented spike last week. Contracts on US equites were little changed in Asian trading on Tuesday.

In Asia, regulators told commercial banks in China’s Jiangxi province not to settle their purchases of government bonds, taking some of the most extreme measures yet to cool a market rally that has alarmed Beijing. At least four Chinese brokerages have started fresh measures to cut back trading of domestic debt beginning last week, people familiar with the matter said.

Investors will be monitoring Japanese equities Tuesday as trading returns following a public holiday. The nation’s stocks shed $1.1 trillion in value as they kicked off August with a record three-day loss.

Elsewhere, India’s inflation eased below the central bank’s target for the first time in nearly five years, though it is unlikely to spur interest rate cuts just yet as policymakers want to see a sustained decline in prices.