By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 added 70.8 points or 1% to 6,856.5 after the first hour of Monday’s trade, following gains of 1.6% last week and trading at 7-week highs as market participants tracked gains among U.S. equities over the weekend, ahead of closely watched interest rate decisions from both the RBA and U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
Ahead in the week, investors will be watching for Tuesday’s interest rate decision and policy statement from the Reseve Bank of Australia, amid expectations of a 25 basis point increase, despite last week’s quarterly inflation lifting to fresh 32-year highs. In addition, retail sales, trade balance, as well as Manufacturing and Services PMIs will be closely monitored.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year rates were at 3.754% while United States 10-year yields were at 4.025%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.7% to 11,211.