Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.1% to 7,123.00
  • Dow Average up 0.6% to 35,022.99
  • Aussie little changed at 0.6510 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 8.6bps to 4.5333%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 11 bps to 4.17%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 13 bps to 4.53%
  • Gold spot down 0.1% to $1,961.70
  • Brent futures down 1.9% to $80.93/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 112-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 147-Day Bills
  • 11:00: (AU) Nov. Consumer Inflation Expectation, prior 4.8%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Part Time Employment Change, prior 46,500
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Full Time Employment Change, prior -39,900
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Employment Change, est. 24,000, prior 6,700
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Participation Rate, est. 66.8%, prior 66.7%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Unemployment Rate, est. 3.7%, prior 3.6%

Stocks extended their November gains on speculation the Federal Reserve will be able to achieve a soft landing as the US economy remains fairly resilient and inflation shows signs of cooling.

The S&P 500 topped 4,500 — though it rose at a slower pace relative to the previous session, when equities were turbocharged by short covering and bets the Fed’s hikes are over. Retailer Target Corp. soared on solid earnings, while Nvidia Corp. halted a 10-day rally. In late trading, Cisco Systems Inc. sank on a disappointing forecast. Treasuries fell, with traders reloading bearish bets after global bonds came close to erasing their 2023 slide.

Wall Street waded through a batch of economic data for clues on the outlook for the Fed’s next steps. Retail sales slowed in October and prior months were revised higher — suggesting some resiliency going into the holiday season. Prices paid to US producers unexpectedly declined by the most since April 2020.

Other News

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is confronting falling approval ratings midway through his first term, with an increasingly anxious electorate brushing aside his recent run of diplomatic successes and international agreements.

An Essential Media poll this week showed Albanese’s net approval rating turned negative for the first time since he took office 18 months ago. Some 35% of respondents were dissatisfied with his performance, while 33% approved, for an overall reading of minus 2%. Three months earlier, more Australians supported Albanese than disapproved — with 37% in favor and 29% against.

Australians are fretting about stubbornly high inflation and interest rates. The Reserve Bank last week renewed its tightening campaign, raising borrowing costs to a 12-year high — the only developed-world central bank to hike since September — and voicing concern CPI may take longer to return to target.

A poll by Resolve also released this week found the primary vote for the Labor government had dropped to 35%, the lowest level since the election in May 2022. A Newspoll earlier in the month gave the opposition center-right Liberal National Coalition its best result in more than two years.