Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.5% to 7,278.00
- Dow Average up 1.1% to 34,951.93
- Aussie little changed at 0.6812 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield fell 2.0bps to 3.7873%
- Australia 3-year bond yield fell 3 bps to 3.88%
- Australia 10-year bond yield fell 1 bp to 3.98%
- Gold spot up 1.2% to $1,978.90
- Brent futures up 1.7% to $79.83/bbl
Economic Events
- 10:30: (AU) June Westpac Leading Index MoM, prior -0.27%
- 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$800 Million 3.5% 2034 Bonds
Equity markets in Asia are poised for a mixed open as China’s growth concerns continued to weigh on markets even as stocks extended their rally in the US.
Futures for benchmarks in Australia and Japan rose, while contracts for stocks in Hong Kong declined. The worst day in almost a month for US-listed shares of Chinese companies also reflected souring sentiment.
Markets in the US closed near session highs on Tuesday, as results from Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley bolstered bank shares and a rally in equities linked to artificial intelligence resumed. Both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose for a second day, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, up more than 1% in a seventh-day of gains, the longest winning streak in more than two years.
Treasuries ended the day mixed, with the yield on the policy-sensitive two-year note rising and the 10-year benchmark’s rate falling. In the swaps market, traders fully priced in a quarter-point hike at next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The greenback gained against most of its major counterparts, with the yen, British pound and New Zealand dollar among the worst performers. Currencies were little changed in early Asia trading.
Data on Tuesday showed US industrial production and retail sales missed estimates, though an underlying measure of household spending pointed to a more resilient consumer.
Signs of slowing inflation and an improving economic picture have led traders to dial back wagers on how high the US overnight benchmark rate will go. However, quarterly forecasts from policy makers have shown a median expectation of two more quarter-point increases this year to bring inflation in line with the Fed’s target.
Other News
Yum Brands’ Taco Bell prevailed on Tuesday in its self-described bid to “liberate” the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” as competing fast-food chain Taco John’s told the US Patent and Trademark Office it would abandon its federal “Taco Tuesday” trademark.
Taco Bell had asked the USPTO in May to cancel the trademark, calling it a common phrase that Taco John’s had monopolized unfairly in the restaurant industry.
In a statement, Taco John CEO Jim Creel said: “We’ve always prided ourselves on being the home of Taco Tuesday, but paying millions of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
He said the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based chain would instead donate $100 for each of its nearly 400 locations to a nonprofit for restaurant workers in crisis, and challenged Taco Bell to do the same.
Taco Bell has more than 7,200 locations in the US, according to Yum Brands’ website.
Representatives for Taco Bell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Tuesday filing.
Taco John’s owned the right to use the “Taco Tuesday” name in commerce in every state except New Jersey, where it is still owned by Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point.
A separate Taco Bell challenge to that trademark is still pending. The restaurant’s co-owner Gregory Gregory told Reuters he did not have plans to give up its trademark and he was “shocked” that Taco John’s had abandoned its mark so soon.
Taco Bell publicized its petitions to cancel the “Taco Tuesday” marks as part of a marketing campaign, claiming it wanted to “liberate the phrase for restaurants nationwide.”
Taco John’s told the USPTO last month that Taco Bell was only seeking to sell more tacos, and that its mark did not prohibit anyone “from advertising and selling tacos on Tuesday.”
(New York Post)
