Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 1.0% to 8,632.00
  • S&P 500 up 0.7% to 6,754.83
  • Dow Average up 1.3% to 47,062.90
  • Aussie up 0.2% to 0.6475 per US$
  • US 10-year yield fell 2.3bps to 4.0018%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 0.1 bps to 3.74%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 1.5 bps to 4.43%
  • Gold spot little changed at $4,133.56
  • Brent futures down 1.6% to $62.36/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$700 Million 2.75% 2029 Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. CPI YoY, est. 3.6%
  • 11:30: (AU) 3Q Construction Work Done, est. 0.3%, prior 3.0%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. CPI Trimmed Mean MoM
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. CPI MoM
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. CPI Trimmed Mean YoY, est. 2.9%

The RBNZ is expected to cut the Official Cash Rate by 25 bps to 2.25% amid weak economic growth. The first edition of Australia’s new monthly consumer price index is set to show inflation easing, according to Bloomberg Economics.

US stocks pushed higher, with traders reloading wagers on an interest-rate cut next month while the latest AI advances drove Big Tech valuations.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% after swinging between modest gains and losses earlier. The Nasdaq 100 pared its 1.3% drop to climb 0.4% later in the session. Economic data out of the US on Tuesday further cemented bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. That optimism had pushed stocks higher even on Monday.

The US 10-year Treasury yield fell below 4% after White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett emerged as the front-runner to serve as the next Fed chair. The dollar remained lower on Tuesday, while Bitcoin dropped below $88,000.

Among individual stock movers, Alphabet Inc. came off session highs that had driven the search giant closer to a $4 trillion valuation, after The Information reported that Meta Platforms Inc. is in talks to spend billions on Google’s AI chips. Shares of Nvidia Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Oracle Corp. remained lower.

“Nvidia is the biggest position in my portfolio and I am not worried at all by a 3% dip,” said Fares Hendi, global fund manager at Prevoir Asset Management in Paris. “It’s healthy that in a functioning market economy Google goes into this market, it just shows its vast potential.”

Tech stocks like Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. rose. Gains in the health-care sector also buoyed the S&P 500.

Delayed data that released earlier showed that US retail sales rose modestly in September while US wholesale inflation picked up, reflecting higher energy and food costs. US consumer confidence in November slid by the most in seven months because of anxiety about jobs and the economy. Private payrolls data for the four-week period ending Nov. 8 pointed to a moderating labor market.

The latest US economic reports are important to traders given the lack of fresh data before the Fed’s December meeting. Money markets are now pricing in about an 80% chance of a Fed rate cut in December. After fluctuating in recent weeks, the odds for further easing has steadily climbed following recent dovish remarks from some policymakers.