Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.1% to 8,627.00
  • Dow Average down 0.1% to 47,815.43
  • S&P 500 little changed at 6,847.10
  • Aussie up 0.2% to 0.6613 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 4.5bps to 4.1078%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 7.5 bps to 4.05%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 5.9 bps to 4.70%
  • Gold spot up 0.1% to $4,208.96
  • Brent futures up 1.0% to $63.29/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 2.75% 2028 Bonds
  • 16:30: (AU) Nov. Foreign Reserves, prior A$107b

A rally that put the stock market within a striking distance of its all-time highs struggled to gain a whole lot of traction ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve decision. Bitcoin halted its rebound. Bonds fell.

The S&P 500 barely budged. Bets on a Fed reduction remained intact despite a slide in jobless claims — a noisy reading that captured the Thanksgiving period. Meta Platforms Inc. jumped as Bloomberg News reported executives are considering budget cuts for the metaverse group. Small caps hit fresh highs.

Worries that the frenzy around artificial-intelligence has gone too far caused a recent wobble in equities. But the strong outlook for the sector and wagers that policy easing will fuel corporate profits bolstered hopes on further gains.

“The key question hanging over markets is whether a potential Federal Reserve rate cut next week can trigger a so-called Santa rally,” said Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com. “For now, the S&P 500 forecast remains cautiously constructive, albeit with more hesitancy creeping in.”

The pattern for the first couple of weeks of December could prove far choppier than the last part of the month, noted Mark Newton at Fundstrat Global Advisors. With bets on a December rate cut rising to near certainty, he said we’re seeing sectors like industrials, financials and small caps climbing.

The S&P 500 closed near 6,860. The Russell 2000 added 0.8%. In late hours, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. gave a sales outlook that fell short of estimates.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 4.10%. The dollar fluctuated. Bitcoin dropped below $93,000.