Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.7% to 6,993.00
- Dow Average down 0.7% to 32,896.40
- Aussie down 1.0% to 0.7164 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield fell 3.0bps to 1.9616%
- Australia 3-year bond yield fell 10bps to 1.61%
- Australia 10-year bond yield fell 11bps to 2.16%
- Gold spot down 1.0% to $1,889.70
- Brent futures up 2.5% to $99.26/bbl
Economic Events
- 11am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$500 Million 2.75% 2029 Bonds
U.S. stocks erased losses to trade higher Thursday, with investors finding refuge in large-cap American technology shares, as a decline in oil prices eased concern Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would result in an immediate worsening of the inflation picture.
The S&P 500 added 1.5%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 3.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3% higher after teetering on the edge of a correction as the conflict with Russia cast a pall over global markets. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 3.3% and Russian shares slumped the most on record.
West Texas Intermediate crude pared back advances of as much as 9% to 1%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slid to 1.96%. Gold reversed previous gains. Elsewhere, the dollar and yen jumped as the euro and commodity-linked currencies retreated.
Other News
Moving into this newly sold apartment won’t take long.
A London apartment with only 75 square feet — or 7 square meters — of living space was just purchased at auction for 90,000 pounds (US$122,000), an 80% increase from its initially planned starting price of 50,000 pounds.
Located in East London’s Lower Clapton neighborhood, the apartment features a bunkbed over shelves, drawers and a microwave. There’s also a tiny “wet room” with a shower, toilet and sink.
A small space with a large price tag, the flat encapsulates how real estate prices are increasing no matter where you live. The cost for a house in the U.K. hit a record last year, thanks to a supply shortage and low mortgage rates enticing new buyers. Some city dwellers are also opting to live mostly in the suburbs with more space, while keeping a smaller apartment for trips into urban centers.
Even before the auction began, the starting bid for the microflat was bumped up to about US$102,000 due to high demand. The current tenant pays almost US$1,100 a month in rent and uses it as a “crash pad” a couple nights a week.
My Auction, the online platform that marketed the property and ran the sale, said in a release that it does not know what the buyer plans to do with the apartment, but that it did receive lots of interest from people wanting to rent the place out. At the purchase price, My Auction estimates the apartment would provide a rental yield of about 10% a year.
