Reporting scheduled for Wednesday:

Chorus (CNU) | Coronado (CRN) | Domino’s Pizza (DMP) | EML Payments (EML) | Flight Centre (FLT) | Karoon Energy (KAR) | Lovisa (LOV) | OZ Minerals (OZL) | Qualitas (QAL) | Rio Tinto (RIO) | Rural Funds Group (RFF) | Santos (STO) | Scentre Group (SCG) | Siteminder (SDR) | WiseTech (WTC) | Woolworths (WOW) | Worley (WOR) | Lovisa (LOV) | Wagners (WGN)

The local currency ws 0.6 per cent lower near 4am AEDT; the Bloomberg dollar spot index edged 0.2 per cent higher.

On bitstamp.net, bitcoin was 1.7 per cent lower to $US24,412 near 4am AEDT.

The yield on the US 10-year note was 10 basis points higher to 3.91 per cent at 11.55am in New York. The yield on the two-year bill reached 4.70 per cent.

The US central bank has in the span of 11 months raised its benchmark federal funds rate from nearly zero to above 4.5 per cent, and now seems poised to take it as high as 5.4 per cent by midyear, according to prices of overnight index swaps as reported by Bloomberg. It hasn’t been above 5 per cent since 2007.

Today's agenda

Local: Westpac leading index January at 10.30am AEDT, Wage price index fourth quarter and Construction work done fourth quarter at 11.30am AEDT

TD Securities expects wage growth to be 1 per cent in the fourth quarter v the third: “A big upside surprise (greater than 1.2 per cent q/q) should bolster our terminal rate call of 4.35 per cent, with subsequent 25bps hikes in Mar/Apr/May and August.”

Overseas data: NZ trade balance January at 8.45am AEDT, RBNZ policy decision at 12pm AEDT; Eurozone CPI January final at 6pm AEDT, IFO business climate survery February

Other top stories

ASIO breaks up ‘hive of spies’ trying to steal secrets ASIO head Mike Burgess says more Australians are being targeted by foreign espionage agencies than ever before.

PE swoops on Slater & Gordon, turnaround play coming Australian private equity firm Allegro Funds is homing in on a deal to acquire listed law firm and former market darling Slater & Gordon for about $150 million.

Sun sets on bumper resources dividends BHP’s decision to slash its dividend by 40 per cent could mark the end of the resources sector income boom, analysts and fund managers warn.

Market highlights

ASX futures down 31 points or 0.43% to 7228 near 4am AEDT

• AUD -0.6% to 68.66 US cents
• Bitcoin -1.7% to $US24,412 near 4am AEDT
• On Wall St at noon: Dow -1.6% S&P -1.6% Nasdaq -2.1%
• In New York: BHP +0.4% Rio +2.2% Atlassian -2.1%
• Tesla -3.4% Apple -1.8% Amazon -2.6%
• Stoxx 50 -0.5% FTSE -0.5% CAC -0.4% DAX -0.5%
• Spot gold -0.4% to $US1834.23 an ounce at 11.55am New York time
• Brent crude -1.1% to $US83.17 a barrel
• Iron ore +1.2% to $US130.00 a tonne
• 10-year yield: US 3.91% Australia 3.81% Germany 2.52%
• US prices as of 11.55am in New York

United States

The US Supreme Court heard arguments in a major case that could weaken a legal shield that protects internet companies from a wide array of lawsuits in a dispute involving YouTube and the family of an American student fatally shot in a 2015 rampage by Islamist militants in Paris.

Sales of previously owned US homes unexpectedly declined for a 12th-straight month in January, extending a record decline and underscoring how high mortgage rates continue to stifle housing activity.

Commodities

The price of permits on the European Union’s carbon market hit 100 euros per tonne for the first time on Tuesday, Reuters reported, a milestone that reflects the increased costs that factories and power plants must pay when they pollute.

The benchmark EU Allowance (EUA) contract rose to a high of 101.25 euros per tonne and was trading at 100.49 euros per tonne by 1549 GMT.

EUAs are the main currency in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) that forces manufacturers, power companies and airlines to pay for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit as part of the bloc’s efforts to meet its climate targets.