Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.2% to 8,619.00
  • S&P 500 up 0.5% to 6,860.20
  • Dow Average up 1.0% to 47,932.0
  • Aussie up 0.6% to 0.6600 per US$
  • US 10-year yield fell 3.1bps to 4.0556%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 5.7 bps to 3.98%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 3.1 bps to 4.64%
  • Gold spot little changed at $4,208.59
  • Brent futures up 0.4% to $62.70/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1.5 Billion 84-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1.5 Billion 126-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 154-Day Bills
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. International Trade Balance, est. A$4.5b, prior A$3.94b
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Imports MoM, prior 1.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Exports MoM, prior 7.9%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Household Spending YoY, est. 4.6%, prior 5.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) Oct. Household Spending MoM, est. 0.6%, prior 0.2%

New Zealand house prices stagnated in November, leaving them barely changed from a two-year low recorded in September, according to Cotality. Prices were unchanged from October, when they gained a revised 0.1%.

More evidence of a slowdown in the US jobs market reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in its final policy meeting of 2025, driving stocks higher as bond yields fell alongside the dollar.

Almost 350 shares in the S&P 500 rose despite weakness in most megacaps. Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang is unsure whether China would accept its H200 chips should the US relax restrictions. Microsoft Corp. slid 2.5% on a report of lower demand for some artificial-intelligence tools even as the company said aggregate sales quotas for AI products have not been reduced.

Treasuries rose across the curve, sending two-year yields below 3.5%. The greenback saw its worst day since September.

US companies shed payrolls in November by the most since early 2023, adding to concerns about weakening in the labor market. Services activity expanded at a slightly faster pace, while a measure of prices paid dropped to a seven-month low.

Policymakers have been torn as to whether they’ll cut rates for a third straight meeting as they attempt to balance the slowdown in the job market with still-elevated inflation. Investors, however, widely expect the Fed to lower borrowing costs next week.

“The faltering labor market will be the focus for the Fed at their December meeting,” said Jeff Roach at LPL Financial. “Since earlier this year when we started to see a material weakening in the jobs market, I have believed labor demand is weak enough for the Fed to cut, including this month.”

The S&P 500 closed around 6,850, rising for the seventh time in eight sessions. In late hours, Salesforce Inc. gave a solid revenue forecast. Snowflake Inc.’s outlook for operating margin fell short of analysts’ estimates.

The yield on two-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 3.48%. The dollar dropped 0.3%. Bitcoin hovered near $93,000.