Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.8% to 8,500.00
  • Dow Average little changed at 42,305.48
  • Aussie up 1.0% to 0.6497 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 4.0bps to 4.4418%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield little changed at 3.33%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 0.9 bps to 4.27%
  • Gold spot up 2.8% to $3,381.50
  • Brent futures up 3.7% to $65.08/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1.2 Billion 3.75% 2037 Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) RBA Minutes of May Policy Meeting
  • 11:30: (AU) 1Q BoP Current Account Balance, est. -A$12.5b, prior -A$12.5b
  • 11:30: (AU) 1Q Company Operating Profit QoQ, est. 1.3%, prior 5.9%
  • 11:30: (AU) 1Q Net Exports of GDP, est. 0, prior 0.2
  • 11:30: (AU) 1Q Inventories SA QoQ, est. 0.2%, prior 0.1%

Asian stocks are set for a positive open after a rebound in big tech drove US stocks higher. Bonds fell as the dollar hit its lowest since 2023.

Futures pointed to solid gains in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney equity benchmarks early Tuesday, after the S&P 500 rose 0.4% at the start of what’s historically one of its quietest months for gains. Nvidia Corp. led an over 1.5% rally in a measure of chipmakers. US steel and aluminum shares surged on Donald Trump’s pledge to double levies on the metals.

Longer-dated Treasuries underperformed, with the spread between five- and 30-year yields near a level it last closed above in 2021. Oil extended gains early Tuesday, while gold was steady after clocking its biggest daily gain in four weeks.

Wall Street kept a close eye on the latest twists in the trade war, with the US extending the exclusion of Section 301 tariffs on some Chinese goods until Aug. 31, according to a notice issued by the US Customs and Border Protection. Trump and Xi Jinping will “likely” speak this week, according to the White House.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a statement on Monday rebuking the US president’s claim that Beijing breached the consensus reached in Geneva last month. The dust-up threatened to worsen trade relations.

Meanwhile, Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is considering returning to the US for another round of trade negotiations this week as expectations mount for a deal as early as this month.

“We continue to expect market volatility as investors digest fresh tariff headlines and incoming US economic data. Fiscal worries remain, and geopolitical tensions are heating up,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Russia and Ukraine wrapped up a second round of talks in Istanbul that failed to bring the two sides closer to ending the war, but laid the groundwork for a new exchange of prisoners.

Among policymakers speaking was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who didn’t comment on the rate outlook.