S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
Australia’s 10-year government bond yield fell to around 4.9%, easing from multi-week highs as softer inflation figures reduced expectations of further interest rate hikes. Headline inflation unexpectedly eased to a four-month low of 3.8% in June from both May’s reading and forecasts of 4.0%, while monthly consumer prices unexpectedly fell 0.1% for a second straight month. Meanwhile, the closely watched trimmed mean inflation rate rose 3.6% annually, below expectations of 3.7%, while quarterly core inflation increased 0.8%, also undershooting forecasts. Although inflation remains above the RBA’s 2%–3% target range, markets sharply scaled back bets on another rate hike this year to around 50% from more than 90% before the release. The softer readings also reinforced the view that the central bank is unlikely to resume policy tightening at its August 11 meeting. Still, the RBA’s governor recently warned that another rate hike may still be needed to bring inflation back to target.
