Australian bonds jump in muted trading ahead of October employment report

The Australian government bonds jumped during Asian session of the second trading day of the week Tuesday amid a muted day that witnessed data of little economic significance ahead of the country’s employment report for the month of October, scheduled to be released on November 14 by 00:30GMT.

Also, the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks remain a concern, sometimes echoing optimism, while igniting uncertainties rest of the time.

The yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, slumped 2 basis points to 1.276 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year bond plunged 2-1/2 basis points to 1.877 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year suffered 2 basis points at 0.859 percent by 04:00GMT.

Global risk appetite was soft yesterday, with equity markets drifting lower amid concerns that progress of the US-China trade negotiations were overdone, OCBC Treasury Research reported.

The S&P500 slipped for the first time in four sessions in quiet trading despite the jump in Boeing, while the UST bond market was closed for Veterans’ Day holiday, the report added.

Further, Australian business conditions recorded another small improvement in October, hitting a three-month high of +3.0, but it is too early to tell if this will be sustained. Confidence also rose slightly to +1.7, ANZ Research reported.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index edged tad -0.56 percent down at 6,734.50 by 04:10GMT.