Amanda Morrall details the key news over night in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with Bank of New Zealand, including Eurozone's emergency intervention plan, a pick-up in the markets, and good returns on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds.
Rumours of what's being touted a "financial firepower" plan in Europe -- aimed at containing debt problems -- had stock markets in Europe rallying over night.
There is speculation the plan would include a 50% write-down of Greek debt and a possible five-fold increase to the Euro rescue fund.
Some European Union officials are downplaying the rumours but it was enough to bolster the Euro Stoxx 50 index by 3%. (Bloomberg carries the details here).
There was a similar effect on U.S. markets.
The Dow Jones was up 123 points (as of 9am), with the S&P500 showing more modest gains. around .8% per cent. (See Reuters' article here for full coverage.)
The improved outlook for equities saw U.S. Treasury prices fall, sending 10-year bond yields higher towards 1.9%.
Betting on Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to save the U.S. economy from itself is proving profitable for bond investors who are enjoying "monster" gains.
(See Bloomberg article here for more analysis).
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes, 10 year bonds have returned 28% this year. That beats the 24.4% gain seen in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis and is a 16-year high.
The NZ dollar continues to be tossed around through the latest volatility and is currently around the US77 cents mark.
ANZ economists said further erratic moves by the NZD underscored the illiquid nature of the currency and its dependence on external factors.
Similar trading patterns are expected to continue with markets transfixed by global developments. The Kiwi is expected to stay wihtin the 0.7650 - 0.7814 range.
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