Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.3% to 8,491.00
  • S&P 500 up 0.2% to 6,629.23
  • Dow Average down 0.2% to 46,007.26
  • Aussie down 0.7% to 0.6464 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 1.7bps to 4.1309%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 1.9 bps to 3.72%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 2.4 bps to 4.42%
  • Gold spot up 0.2% to $4,074.18
  • Brent futures down 2.1% to $63.55/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$2 Billion 126-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$2 Billion 98-Day Bills
  • 10:30: (AU) Australia to Sell A$1 Billion 140-Day Bills
  • 13:00: (AU) RBA’s Hunter-Remarks

RBA Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter speaks at the Australia Industry Group in Sydney. Meta Platforms warned of significant difficulties identifying and removing underage users as it prepares to comply with Australia’s social media ban for under-16s.

Shares of the world’s largest tech companies rallied in late hours on speculation that Nvidia Corp.’s blockbuster outook will help reignite Wall Street’s artificial intelligence-driven rally.

A roughly $390 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 advanced 1% after the close of regular trading. The giant chipmaker that’s seen as a barometer for the revolutionary technology gave a strong revenue forecast for the current period, helping counter concern that a global surge in AI spending is poised to fizzle. The shares spiked about 5%.

Worries over everything from the durability of the AI trade to the Federal Reserve’s policy path have contributed to a recent equity rout. With investors increasingly skittish about tech spending, how Nvidia’s results are interpreted will be key.

“Market psychology has been negative this month as investors worried that the artificial-intelligence infrastructure build out was a bubble,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management. “In the meantime, the largest technology companies in the world are extremely profitable.”

While a market pullback can happen at any time, Zaccarelli says that as long as the economy can stay out of a recession, he expects the bull market to resume and hit new all-time highs later this year and into next year.

In the run-up to results from the giant chipmaker, the S&P 500 halted a four-day slide. The dollar rose, with traders nearly pricing out a rate cut next month as the Bureau of Labor Statistics won’t publish an October jobs report, but will incorporate the payrolls figures into the November data due after the Fed’s final meeting of 2025. Bitcoin sank below $90,000.

Meantime, many Fed officials said it would likely be appropriate to keep rates steady for the remainder of 2025, according to minutes of the October meeting. The document came out on the eve of the September jobs report.

“Uncertainty is running high because of the lost data and the unclear impact of tariffs,” said David Russell at TradeStation. “There’s no consensus at the Fed with policymakers flying blind, but these minutes lean hawkish overall.”

The S&P 500 rose to around 6,642. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.13%. Oil sank after a US government report showed rising inventories of fuel and other refined products, easing supply concerns.