Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.3% to 7,194.00
  • Dow Average up 0.3% to 34,390.72
  • Aussie down 0.9% to 0.7174 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield fell 1.6bps to 1.5219%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 1bp to 0.30%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 0.5bps to 1.49%
  • Gold spot down 0.5% to $1,725.97
  • Brent futures down 0.9% to $78.35/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 56-Day Bills
  • 10:30am: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 175-Day Bills
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Private Sector Credit MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.7%
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Private Sector Credit YoY, est. 4.6%, prior 4.0%
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Job Vacancies, prior 23.4%
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Private Sector Houses MoM, prior -5.8%
  • 11:30am: (AU) Aug. Building Approvals MoM, est. -5.0%, prior -8.6%

Asian stocks looked set for a muted open after U.S. equities pared most of their gains as a rally in technology shares petered out. The dollar strengthened.
Futures pointed to modest gains in Japan where the ruling party’s new leader who is set to become the next prime minister is seen by investors as maintaining stability. Contracts edged higher in Australia and dipped in Hong Kong. The Nasdaq 100 notched its third straight day of losses after earlier climbing about 1%. Dip buyers helped push the S&P 500 higher.
The dollar rose to the highest since November as investors opted for safe havens. The deadline for the U.S. government to keep running and avoid a default is looming amid wrangling in Washington. Treasury yields were little changed near the highest since June. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell voiced cautious optimism that supply-chain disruptions lifting inflation would ultimately prove temporary.
In China, investors continue to monitor the situation at China Evergrande Group ahead of a week-long holiday when markets will be shut.

Other News

You can say goodbye to half-used ketchup packets that leak on your pants. Kraft Heinz has announced a new product that claims to squeeze out every last drop from your takeout condiments. Heinz’s “Packet Roller” went on sale earlier this month. For $5.70 a piece, the ketchup bottle-shaped (and key chain accessory-sized) gadget cuts corners of condiment packets and helps roll out the small bags to efficiently extract their sauce. “100% sauce extraction for 100% sauce satisfaction,” the food processing company advertises. “Gone are the days of fumbling with ketchup packets, pants ruined by mustard disasters, and minutes taken off your life trying to get to the bottom of that mayo packet… What was once taxing becomes simple.” The release comes not long after the ketchup shortage hit restaurants nationwide – which saw high demand for small condiment packets with increased takeout and delivery orders amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In April, Heinz confirmed to USA TODAY that it was working to increase supplies in response to chain shortages, including adding manufacturing lines to increase production by about 25% for a total of more than 12 billion packets a year.

But this rise in single-serve, takeout condiment packets has caused heightened concern for negative implications on the environment. During 2020’s surges, Kate O’Neill, a professor in the department of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, explained to CNN how nonpaper condiment packets are nearly impossible to recycle. “It adds in to the huge volume of single-use disposable plastics that we’re seeing in general,” O’Neill told the outlet. “These packets will show up in the waste stream.” In 2018, Heinz pledged to make all its packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable globally by 2025. And some note that the new Packet Roller could help to reduce condiment packaging waste – as using every last drop of sauce in packets could decrease the number each consumer uses. “Our packets bring the magic to mealtime no matter where people are having their burger and fries but squeezing out every drop is no easy feat,” said Ashleigh Gibson, Heinz Brand Director, in a news release.. “We engineered the HEINZ Packet Roller to give fans a whole new way to savor their favorite condiment and ensure the last drop never goes to waste again.”