Asia markets mixed as more U.S. inflation data comes in softer than expected

Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor Michele Bullock has been appointed as the new central bank chief, the country’s Treasury said Friday.

She succeeds incumbent Philip Lowe, whose term will end on August 17 — that brings a close to his 43 years at the bank. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described Bullock’s appointment as “the optimal balance between providing exceptional experience & expertise and offering a fresh leadership perspective.”

Bullock’s appointment would mean that the RBA will have a vacant deputy governor’s post, which the government said that it will fill in the coming months.

— Lim Hui Jie

Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller voiced the need for two more rate hikes for inflation to be brought down to its target.

“I see two more 25-basis-point hikes in the target range over the four remaining meetings this year as necessary to keep inflation moving toward our target,” he said, speaking at at event at New York University on Thursday.

He called the latest consumer price index reading that showed a cooling inflation rate as “welcome” news, while adding, “one data point does not make a trend.”

“I am going to need to see this improvement sustained before I am confident that inflation has decelerated,” he said.

— Jihye Lee

The fund manager behind a fixed-income fund offering 10% in dividends has predicted a “deterioration in credit” for the wider economy in the near future.

However, the portfolio manager expects the fund to be well-position for such a scenario while generating market-beating income.

It is among only a handful of funds available to retail investors across Europe that currently offers double-digit yields.

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— Ganesh Rao

Bank of America has described the AI opportunity within the software industry as “undeniably vast” and ranked European companies in the sector.

“We see gen AI as an opportunity for the Software industry to derive both potential revenue uplift via enhanced value proposition and data monetization, alongside productivity improvements,” the bank said.

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— Lucy Handley

The producer price index, a measure of what wholesalers pay for goods, rose 0.1% in June. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 0.2%. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% — also less than expected.

— Fred Imbert

In another bullish sign for the market, the S&P 500 is now up 3.3% since the Fed started raising rates in March 2022. The move comes as traders cheer the prospects of the central bank taming inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.

“For first time in 2023 we are currently being asked by multiple clients if we think the S&P 500 is now on track to clock an ATH before year end. I am going with a yes on this,” Goldman Sachs’ John Flood wrote in a note Wednesday.

— Fred Imbert

The St. Louis Federal Reserve announced Thursday that Jim Bullard will step down from his post as president, effective Aug. 14.

The bank said he’s leaving to take the position of dean at Purdue University’s Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, effective Aug. 15. It also added that Bullard has “recused himself from his monetary policy role on the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee and other related duties and has ceased all public speaking.”

“It has been both a privilege and an honor to be part of the St. Louis Fed for the last 33 years, including serving as its president for the last 15 years,” Bullard said in a statement. “I am also grateful to have worked alongside such dedicated and inspiring colleagues across the Federal Reserve System.”

Bullard is not a voting member on the policymaking committee this year.

— Fred Imbert

Almost 2.4 stocks are rising Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange for every 1 decline, and advancing volume approaches 71% versus less than 29% declining volume, according to FactSet data. New NYSE highs total 167 versus only 11 new lows.

Over on the Nasdaq Stock Market, almost 2 stocks are rising for every 1 that’s falling, and up volume is a shade less than 73%, far outstripping down volume that’s equal to less than 27%. Nasdaq new highs amount to 256 against just 52 new lows.

— Scott Schnipper