Investing.com - The Australian Stock Exchange is expected to open lower on Wednesday, following modest declines among New York shares. Despite the overall downward trend, Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) saw a remarkable surge of over 40% on its first trading day.
Market attention is currently focused on the upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision, scheduled for 4am AEST Thursday. While no change in rates is anticipated, investors are eagerly waiting for any indication of what the November meeting might hold.
By 9:30am AEST (11:30pm GMT) ASX 200 Futures were down by 0.7%.
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Among the day's highlights in New York was the impressive debut of Instacart. Instacart's shares opened at $US42 each, up from the initial $US30. This surge raised $US660 million for the company and its selling shareholders, marking the fourth-largest US IPO this year. The shares closed at $US33.70, valuing the company at $US9.3 billion.
Among currencies, the Australian dollar experienced a 0.3% increase, while the US Dollar Index was steady at 103.5. In the cryptocurrency realm, Bitcoin rose by 1.6% to $US27,174.
The US 5-Year yield reached its highest level since 2007, following higher-than-expected inflation data from Canada and increasing oil prices, which intensified global concerns about a resurgence in price pressures. The yield on the US 10-Year note rose 6 basis points to 4.36%, with the five-year standing at 4.51%.
Canadian yields also surged as traders factored in higher chances of another interest-rate hike by the country’s central bank, following a report that showed an unexpected acceleration in the domestic inflation rate for a second consecutive month.
Global debt increased by $US10 trillion in the first half of 2023, returning to an upward trend as a proportion of the global economy after nearly two years of decline due to surging inflation. The total liabilities reached a record $US307 trillion, an astonishing $US100 trillion increase over the past decade.
Today, investors will be closely monitoring the Westpac leading index at 10.30am, as well as trade balance data from Japan and CPI data from the UK.