Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.2% to 6,412.00
  • Dow Average up 0.6% to 30,677.36
  • Aussie down 0.5% to 0.6894 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 7.0bps to 3.0870%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 10bps to 3.35%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 13bps to 3.85%
  • Gold spot down 0.8% to $1,822.67
  • Brent futures down 1.8% to $109.76/bbl

Economic Events

  • 9:30pm: (AU) RBA’s Lowe-Panel Discussion

US Treasuries rallied after another batch of economic data fell short of expectations, ratcheting up recession worries. American equities advanced as the decline in yields made stocks relatively more attractive.

The S&P 500 ended almost 1% higher after waffling throughout the day, and is now up more than 3% in the past three days. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, whose members have been more sensitive to the rise in bond yields, jumped 1.5%. The 10-year yield fell back below 3.10% just nine days after spiking to within a whisker of 3.50%. Commodities from oil to copper remained under pressure as signs of waning demand mounted.

Data on Thursday did little to boost sentiment about a global economy battered by a flurry of central bank rate increases. Jobless claims hovered near a five-week high, while manufacturing and services activity in the US cooled in June, lagging estimates and adding to worries the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation will upend growth.

Other News

The city of Amagasaki in western Japan said Thursday that it has lost a USB flash drive containing personal information on all of its roughly 460,000 residents.

The lost data included the residents’ names, addresses and dates of birth, as well as the bank account numbers of welfare-receiving households, among other information. There is no evidence of data being leaked so far, according to the city in Hyogo Prefecture.

An employee of a company commissioned to assist the city’s rollout of COVID-19 relief funds lost a bag that had the flash drive inside after drinking and dining at a restaurant on Tuesday, the city said.

The employee reported to police on Wednesday. The data was encrypted and protected with a password, according to the city.

“We will thoroughly ensure security management when handling electronic data,” the city said in a statement. “We will work to regain our residents’ trust by heightening awareness of the importance of protecting personal information.”

(The Japan Times)