The yield on the US 10-year note was 2 basis points lower to 3.29 per cent at 2.32pm in New York.
Alphabet’s Google unit plans to add artificial intelligence features to its search engine, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In economic news, initial claims for state unemployment benefits in the US dropped 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 228,000 for the week ended April 1. Data for the prior week was revised to show 48,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 200,000 claims for the latest week. The government revised the claims series from 2018.
The claims data has no bearing on March’s employment report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday.
Other top stories
ASIC cancels Binance’s derivatives licence, effective immediately The Australian regulator’s decision to cancel Binance’s licence adds to a growing problem for the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Chanticleer: Three things the Reserve Bank board spoke about this week Rates are now on hold, but it doesn’t sound like that will be the case for much longer. This is what the RBA board considered at its meeting.
Credit Suisse star trader lands at Barrenjoey Everyone knows there’s talent inside the Credit Suisse franchise. Now it’s up for grabs.
Market highlights
ASX futures up 9 points or 0.12% to 7248 near 4.30am AEST
- AUD -0.7% to 66.76 US cents
- Bitcoin -0.04% to $US28,004 at 4.45am AEST
- On Wall St at 2.40pm: Dow +0.1% S&P +0.4% Nasdaq +0.8%
- In New York: BHP -0.7% Rio +0.1% Atlassian -0.3%
- Tesla +0.1% Apple +0.6% Alphabet +4.3% Microsoft +2.2%
- Stoxx 50 +0.3% FTSE +1% CAC +0.1% DAX +0.5%
- Spot gold -0.6% to $US2009.16/oz at 2.32pm in New York
- Brent crude +0.01% to $US85.00 a barrel
- Iron ore -0.4% to $US117.35 a tonne
- 10-year yield: US 3.29% Australia 3.18% Germany 2.18%
- US prices as of 2.32pm in New York
United States
Boeing plans to crank up output of its 737 family of jets to a 38-plane monthly rate by the middle of the year, months earlier than analysts had predicted, according to people familiar with the matter.
The US planemaker has been briefing customers on its plans to step up production of its main cash cow over the next few months, while hiring and training workers to support the faster manufacturing pace, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter.
Apple returns much of its excess cash to shareholders via share buybacks and dividends. Those expenditures totalled more than $US100 billion in fiscal 2022 and it still had $US165 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, as of December 31.
The stock is up 25 per cent in 2023, outperforming its megacap peers for the second-consecutive year. Over the past two decades, Apple has averaged an annual return of 39 per cent, including dividends. The S&P 500, by comparison, sits at 10 per cent.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 per cent, posting its third consecutive weekly gain, with banking stocks among the biggest boosts.
Shares of Zurich Insurance Group added 1.9 per cent as the group said it was withdrawing from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), becoming the second founding member to quit the climate group in less than a week.
Markets in Europe will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter break.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 rose 1.0 per cent, hitting its highest level in over three weeks and ending the holiday-shortened week about 1.4 per cent higher, with support from gains in oil and gas, financial and healthcare stocks.
Shell rose 2.3 per cent as the energy giant forecast higher liquefied natural gas output in the first quarter.
Commodities
The Biden administration is on track to propose the toughest-ever US curbs on car pollution, while stopping short of an electric-vehicle mandate or ban on gas-powered models.
The proposed standards on cars and light trucks, set to be announced Wednesday in Detroit, are expected to govern tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide, smog-forming nitrogen oxide and other pollution from vehicles manufactured for model years 2027 through 2032.
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Walmart plans to have its own network of electric vehicle charging stations by 2030 to tap into the growing adoption of EVs in the United States.
The new fast-charging stations will be placed at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, alongside nearly 1300 it already offers as part of a deal with Volkswagen unit Electrify America, one of the country’s largest open public EV networks.
Walmart’s more than 5000 stores and Sam’s Club warehouses are located within 10 miles of about 90 per cent of Americans.
