Markets Eye Australian CPI and the Fed

• Risk sentiment improved overnight on renewed appetite for AI-related stocks and softer oil prices, with the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq 0.8% higher. US Treasury yields traded mixed as markets positioned ahead of the Fed’s policy decision later this week.
• AI-related equities led the gains after Anthropic’s Nasdaq IPO filing, while Meta’s plan to raise up to US$95bn via equity offerings to fund its AI build-out added to the supply theme across capital markets.
• In European rates, French 10-year spreads to Bunds tightened after Moody’s left France’s sovereign rating unchanged, easing some of the recent pressure on French debt.
• Domestically, focus turns to tomorrow’s September CPI, with annual inflation last printing at 4.0%. The result will be central to pricing for the RBA’s November meeting, with officials recently flagging that inflation pressures remain elevated.