Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.7% to 7,608.00
  • Dow Average up 0.3% to 38,654.42
  • Aussie down 0.8% to 0.6518 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 14.1bps to 4.0199%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 2 bps to 3.55%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 3.4 bps to 3.98%
  • Gold spot down 0.7% to $2,039.76
  • Brent futures down 1.7% to $77.33/bbl

Economic Events

  • 09:00: (AU) Jan. Judo Bank Australia PMI Servic, prior 47.9
  • 09:00: (AU) Jan. Judo Bank Australia PMI Compos, prior 48.1
  • 11:00: (AU) Jan. Melbourne Institute Inflation, prior 5.2%
  • 11:00: (AU) Jan. Melbourne Institute Inflation, prior 1.0%
  • 11:00: (NZ) Jan. ANZ Commodity Price MoM, prior 2.4%
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. ANZ-Indeed Job Advertisements , prior 0.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) Dec. Exports MoM, prior 1.7%
  • 11:30: (AU) Dec. International Trade Balance, est. A$10.5b, prior A$11.4b
  • 11:30: (AU) Dec. Imports MoM, prior -7.9%

The stock market extended gains as big tech rallied and a solid jobs report bolstered the outlook for corporate profits.

Equities hit all-time highs, with the S&P 500 approaching 5,000 and the Nasdaq 100 up 1.7% on bullish outlooks from Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Economic optimism outweighed bets the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to cut rates. Treasury two-year yields jumped 16 basis points to 4.36%. The dollar climbed to its strongest since December.

Other News

Australia’s government has proposed fuel efficiency standards for some vehicles, which would bring the country in line with rules introduced in the US about 50 years ago.

The government’s preferred standard, released Sunday, would only apply to new passenger and light commercial vehicles, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday. Under the proposal, manufacturers would be set an average carbon dioxide target for the vehicles they produce, and would receive credits for meeting them and would be penalized for missing them.

“The new vehicles that are sold here in Australia are 40% less efficient than those vehicles in the European Union and 20% less efficient than the US,” King said, adding the move would start in 2025 and would bring Australia in line with the US by 2028. “The US has had efficiency standards since the 1970s. It is time that Australia had the same because there are significant fuel savings, significant savings for Australian consumers.”

Motorists would save A$100 billion ($65.1 billion) in fuel costs by 2050, according to the government. The transport sector accounts for 16% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, with light vehicles making up around 11%. The International Energy Agency has said replacing conventional cars with electric vehicles is a “key part of reaching net zero emissions by mid-century.”

The government says its preferred option would cut CO2 emissions by 369 million tons by 2050, an amount equivalent to the last six years of total emissions from light vehicles in Australia.

The Motor Trades Association of Australia, which represents the auto sector, said it had taken “three governments and 12 years to reach this point.”

“The whole industry knows putting in place a fuel efficiency standard is the right way to go,” MTAA Chief Executive Officer Matt Hobbs said in an emailed statement Sunday. “The argument is just about the fine details. We score the government a seven out of 10, so far.”

Uber Australia’s Managing Director Dom Taylor told The Guardian that introducing the new standards would attract more affordable EV models to Australia. It would mean the country would catch up to its international peers and have a meaningful impact on emissions targets, Taylor was quoted as saying.

(Bloomberg)