The US bond yield remains trapped around 1.5% after jumping significantly as investors face the dual challenge of identifying whether the economy is recovering strongly or data is still being impacted by the pandemic.
The tech sector was the biggest winner overnight with the Nasdaq finishing 0.5% higher, outperforming the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones, up 0.4% and 0.3% respectively.
The solution to high prices is high prices, or so the saying goes, and this time it was the Russians who stepped in, releasing more natural gas into the market sending the price down around 10%. This seems to be the ultimate outcome from the current crisis but only time will tell.
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Debt ceiling discussions continue, tech rallies
The grandstanding on the debt ceiling continues, with President Biden saying an ‘American default would lead to self-inflicted wounds that risk the market tanking and wiping out retirement savings’, which given the recent history is highly unlikely.
Big tech drove Wednesday’s rally, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) both adding over 1%, with volatility continuing in the lesser-known names.
Interestingly, despite suggestions tech is overvalued there are a number of companies well below recent highs with the likes of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) falling heavily overnight.
Looking ahead, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to follow this positive lead from US markets to open higher on Thursday. For all the latest, check out my ASX 200 morning report.