Morning Report 17 Feb 22: ASX set for a flat start following Wall St recovery after dovish Fed minutes

US sharemarkets fluctuated on Wednesday as investors assessed Russia-Ukraine tensions. The latest US Federal Reserve minutes were seen as more 'dovish' than what traders were expecting. Shares of media company ViacomCBS plunged 17.8% on disappointing earnings. The Dow Jones index closed lower by 55 points or 0.2% after being down 346 points at session lows. But the S&P 500 index rose by 0.1% with the Nasdaq index dipping 16 points or 0.1%. US treasury yields fell on Wednesday amid rising geo-political uncertainty. The US Treasury sold US$19 billion of 20-year bonds at a yield of 2.40% into robust demand. US 10-year yields fell by 2 points to near 2.03%. And US 2-year yields lost 6 points to near 1.51%.

This report is approved and distributed in Australia by Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814 (CommSec) a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL 234945 (the Bank), and a market participant of ASX Limited and CHI-X Pty Limited, a clearing participant of ASX Clear Pty Limited and a settlement participant of ASX Settlement Pty Limited. Any advice contained in this report is general advice only and is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any securities, property, real estate or financial products, and has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial or taxation situation or needs of any particular individual. Before making any investment decision, you should consider your own investment needs and objectives and consider seeking financial advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report is produced by Commonwealth Securities Limited based on information available at the time of publishing.  We believe that the information in this report is correct and any opinions, conclusions or recommendations are reasonably held or made as at the time of its compilation, but no warranty is made as to accuracy, reliability or completeness. To the extent permitted by law, neither the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries accept liability to any person for loss or damage arising from the use of this report.