Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.7% to 7,372.00
  • Dow Average up 0.8% to 34,098.16
  • Aussie down 0.3% to 0.6614 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 9.8bps to 3.4220%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 1.7 bps to 3.00%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 3.3 bps to 3.34%
  • Gold spot up 0.1% to $1,990.00
  • Brent futures up 2.7% to $80.33/bbl

Economic Events

  • 09:00: (AU) April Judo Bank Australia PMI Mfg, prior 48.1
  • 11:00: (AU) April Melbourne Institute Inflation, prior 0.3%
  • 11:00: (AU) April Melbourne Institute Inflation, prior 5.7%
  • 11:30: (AU) April ANZ-Indeed Job Advertisements

Equities in Asia were primed to advance on Monday after robust corporate earnings boosted Wall Street at the end of last week as investors awaited news of a bid for First Republic Bank.

US futures were broadly flat in early Asian trading after the S&P 500 rose 0.8% Friday to advance for two consecutive weeks for the first time in a month. The benchmark also posted back-to-back monthly gains for the first time in five months. The CBOE Volatility Index fell below 16 points for the first time since November 2021 as solid corporate earnings boosted sentiment.

The future of First Republic Bank weighed over markets, however. Regulators had asked a group of banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to submit bids for the embattled lender by midday Sunday in Washington. Should none materialize, US authorities have the option of taking ownership of the bank.

A Friday rally in Treasuries pushed yields across the curve lower. The yield on the 10-year note fell 10 basis points, the biggest one-day drop in more than a month, to 3.42%.
Interest rate decisions will be in focus this week. The Federal Reserve is expected to increase borrowing costs 25 basis points to a range of 5% to 5.25%, a level not seen since 2007. The European Central Bank is also expected to raise its key lending rates by 25 basis points. The Reserve Bank of Australia is forecast to keep interest rates on hold when it meets Tuesday.

Other News

A woman who injured three TSA agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Tuesday reportedly attacked the trio after they took away her apple juice, according to arrest documents.

Makiah Coleman, 19, grew irate and allegedly bit and hit the agents when they removed her juice at a security checkpoint shortly before 6 a.m., Fox 10 Phoenix reported.

She allegedly climbed over a table and whacked an agent on the head before punching and pulling the hair of a second agent. A third agent intervened to try to stop Coleman but was bitten by the crazed woman, according to the document.

Two of the agents were taken to the hospital for treatment and hundreds of travelers were inconvenienced as officials shuttered the checkpoint to deal with Coleman, according to the TSA.