Optimism is rippling across the financial markets and US equity futures are setting up for another strong open after Oracle Corp. said its contract backlog exploded by a staggering 359 percent to $455 billion in its first quarter, underscoring the sheer scale of the ongoing buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. By our estimates, the top ten AI-focused companies listed on US exchanges...

• Mixed markets. US equities touched a record. Bond yields rose, as did the USD. AUD drifted back after coming close to its year-to-date peak.• US jobs. Revisions to US payrolls larger than anticipated. Pace of jobs growth looks a lot slower. US Fed likely to deliver a series of rate cuts.• Inflation trends. US producer price inflation due tonight. Consumer prices out tomorrow. Will the data show greater...

A sense of optimism is percolating across global financial markets this morning, underpinned by hopes for a drawn-out monetary easing campaign from the Federal Reserve. Long-term bond yields are coming down across most advanced economies, equity indices are advancing, and currency markets are displaying risk-on characteristics, with the dollar retreating against all of its major peers. The Bureau of...

• Upbeat tone. Markets continue to factor in US Fed rate cuts. US bond yields fell further & USD weakened. AUD approaching top of its year-to-date range.• US jobs. Benchmark revisions to US payrolls due tonight. Negative revisions could keep USD on backfoot, a tailwind for other currencies.• Inflation pulse. US producer & consumer prices due later this week. More signs of tariff driven inflation...

Currency markets are back in consolidation mode as investors keep an eye on international developments and await inflation data that could alter US monetary policy expectations across the front end of the curve. Ten-year Treasury yields are holding firm, equity futures are setting up for gains at the North American open, and the dollar is trading slightly lower against its major peers after a relatively-subdued...

• US jobs. Weaker than forecast US jobs report. US Fed rate cut expectations increase. Lower US bond yields weigh on USD. AUD & NZD firmer.• Fed policy. Step down in employment points to a series of rate cuts by US Fed. Markets toying with the idea of a 50bp move later this month.• Key Events. In the US, revisions to non-farm payrolls in focus this week, as are producer prices & CPI inflation....

The US job creation engine slowed further last month, reinforcing market expectations for at least two rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the remainder of the year. According to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 22,000 jobs were added in August – representing an undershoot relative to the 75,000-consensus forecast – and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent....

A fragile sense of calm is returning to financial markets this morning as investors revert to betting on an aggressive easing cycle from the Federal Reserve. The yield on the 30-year US Treasury is back down to 4.88 percent after flirting with the 5-percent threshold, long-dated bonds in both the UK and Japan are coming off levels last hit in the nineties, and spreads within the euro area are contracting,...

• Positive tone. Improved risk sentiment overnight with equities rising, bond yields falling, & the USD weaker. AUD/USD rebounded.• US data. US job openings weaker than expected. Cracks in the US jobs market are widening. US Fed looks set to lower rates over the next few meetings.• AU GDP. Growth stronger than forecast. Private sector activity picked up. RBA Gov. Bullock indicated if this continues...

A global selloff in long-term government bond markets is extending this morning amid a wholesale reappraisal of sovereign debt and inflation risks. Thirty-year securities are coming under the heaviest pressure, with US Treasury yields hovering near 5 percent, Japanese ultra-long bonds holding near record highs*, and British gilts offering their highest rates since 1998. Shorter-dated yields remain...