Australian shares are set to open modestly lower in line with Wall Street. US bond yields pared an initial move higher after a key policymaker said there was “no urgency” to lift interest rates.
S&P/ASX 200 Index futures were down 5 points or 0.1 per cent to 8747. In New York, the S&P 500 was 0.2 per cent lower at the close, with energy pacing losses in seven of the 11 industry sectors.
The local currency mostly held near the two-month low it hit on Tuesday after traders reined in expectations of further interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The yield on the US 30-year note surged through 5.61 per cent to its highest level since 2002 early in New York’s trading day. It ended at 5.57 per cent. The 10-year yield closed flat at 5.24 per cent.
Evercore ISI attributed the paring of the early yield move to comments by John Williams, head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, who signalled a high bar to higher rates.