Asia Pacific markets will look to capitalize on the strong finish seen on Wall Street overnight when stocks rose into the closing bell, taking back losses from earlier in the day. Technology stocks outperformed for the second consecutive session as traders shifted back into high-beta equities. Democrats on Capitol Hill are reportedly accepting a GOP offer that will raise the US debt ceiling through December. That removes a lingering headwind for market participants.
Although equities performed well, the safe-haven US Dollar rose overnight despite the rosy finish in New York. A robust employment report from ADP showed the US economy added 568k private-sector jobs in September versus an expected 430k, according to a Bloomberg survey. That appeared to fuel speculative rate bets, which caused the short-end of the Treasury curve to rise. The 2- and 5-year Treasury yields rose, while the 10- and 30-year’s fell. The Greenback is more sensitive to the short side of the yield curve.
