Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 1.0% to 8,946.00
  • S&P 500 up 1% to 6,883.85
  • Dow Average up 0.6% to 48,810.56
  • Aussie up 0.7% to 0.7083 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 1.4bps to 4.0747%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 3.4 bps to 4.31%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 2.5 bps to 4.75%
  • Gold spot up 1.0% to $5,137.43
  • Brent futures down 0.1% to $81.30/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 98-Day Bills on March 5
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 154-Day Bills on March 5
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. International Trade Balance, est. A$3.8b, prior A$3.37b
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Imports MoM, prior -0.8%
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Exports MoM, prior 1.0%
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Household Spending MoM, est. 0.4%, prior -0.4%
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Household Spending YoY, est. 5.1%, prior 5.0%

Asian equities were set to open higher Thursday after heavy selling in the prior session. US stocks climbed as data showed economic resilience and eased inflation fears, even as the Iran war uncertainty increased oil prices further.

Equity index futures for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong climbed. Contracts for South Korea’s Kospi index traded around 8% higher, indicating a bounce after a crash on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.5% Wednesday, helped along by a rally in tech megacaps. Equity gains were supported by data showing the US service economy expanded at the fastest pace since mid-2022 while a price index hit an almost one-year low, partly soothing inflation concerns.

The dollar slipped 0.3%. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 4.10%. Crude settled near $75 a barrel.

The supportive backdrop from US stocks heading into the Asian trading day offered a partial reprieve from Wednesday’s broad declines across the region, as investors parsed the war’s impact on growth and inflation.

“The most likely outcome is the geopolitical stuff works itself out and the economy continues to accelerate,” said Charles Lemonides, founder and chief investment officer of ValueWorks LLC, a New York-based hedge fund. “I would definitely not be stepping to the sidelines.”

President Donald Trump expressed confidence in the military campaign against Iran even as the timeline for operations remained unclear. Tehran targeted Israel and Gulf states while Israeli and American forces followed through on pledges to bomb targets in the Islamic Republic. The US sank an Iranian warship in international waters.

Meantime, Tehran dismissed a report it had reached out to the US to negotiate an end to the conflict as “pure falsehood.” China, meanwhile, will dispatch its special envoy on Middle East affairs to the region to conduct mediation efforts.

Although risk assets face a “significant headwind” from the war and anxiety over artificial intelligence, economic strength and robust earnings mean the extent of a pullback will be limited, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Peter Oppenheimer.

After lowering interest rates three times in 2025, Fed officials pivoted to holding borrowing costs steady in January, citing above-target inflation and a recent stabilization in the labor market. Several policymakers have even considered the likelihood that the US central bank may need to raise interest rates if inflation stays elevated.

The Labor Department will issue its February jobs report Friday and officials will receive fresh inflation data next week. Policymakers next gather March 17-18 in Washington.

In Asia, the weakening dollar supported a stronger yen, which rose to around 157 per dollar Wednesday, strengthening on the greenback alongside the currencies of Australia and New Zealand.

Data set for release in the region includes inflation for the Philippines and Thailand, an interest rate decision in Malaysia and Taiwan industrial production. Elsewhere, China’s National People’s Congress convenes with the expected unveiling of the new Five-Year Plan.

Elsewhere, gold edged higher, recovering some of the previous session’s losses, as dip-buyers entered a market fraught with risk. Bullion climbed as much as 2.3% on Wednesday before paring some of the gains, helped by some weakness in the dollar after a rally earlier in the week.