Global Markets Update
- U.S. equity markets closed higher overnight, with the Dow Jones up +0.3%, S&P 500 up +0.4% and NASDAQ gaining +0.5%, after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he planned to offer a short-term debt ceiling increase that would last into December. U.S. companies added more jobs than forecast in September, the most since June, with Businesses’ payrolls increasing by 568,000, led by leisure and hospitality, after a revised 340,000 gain in August.
- Long-dated U.S. treasury yields were mixed, with the 2-Yr yield higher at 0.296% and the 10-Yr yield lower at 1.524%.
- European markets. European equity markets closed lower overnight, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down -1.0%, U.K. FTSE 100 down -1.1% and German DAX declining -1.5%, as investors worried that surging energy prices will lead to long-lasting inflation and higher interest rates, hampering the economic rebound, however, sentiment was boosted as natural gas prices turned lower after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced Russia could potentially export record volumes of the vital fuel to Europe this year with Russia’s Deputy PM suggesting quick certification of the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline as a way to achieve this.
- Asian markets. Asian equity markets closed lower overnight, with the Hang Seng down -0.6%, as a selloff in the tech sector deepened amid rising Treasury yields and Chinese Golden Week travel suggested sluggish holiday spending with the travel down by a third on pre-pandemic levels. KOSPI was down -1.8%, Nikkei 225 down -1.1% and Shanghai Composite remained closed for a holiday.
- WTI oil is trading at US$77.02 a barrel. Iron ore price is at US$116.81 per ton. Spot gold is trading at US$1,764 per oz.
ASX Market Update
- ASX performance. The ASX 200 closed -0.58% lower yesterday.
- A2 Milk Co Ltd (A2M) was down -7.7%, after announcing Australian law firm Slater and Gordon has filed a class action lawsuit against the Company, alleging that A2M engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of the Corporations Act, and also breached continuous disclosure rules in posting four downgrades between September 2020 and May 2021.
- Today’s trading. In the U.S., jobless claims data is to be published.