On April 18, 2001 US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) surprised Önancial
markets by lowering the Federal Funds Target rate
1
2
% between regularly scheduled FOMC meeting dates. Securities markets in the US and Australia responded. The US 30-Euro$ rate fell by
1
2
%.and US and Australian Öve year bond yields fell by about 13 basis points. Equity returns
increased by 3% in the US and 1
1
2
% in Australia. This paper is the Örst to examine international
monetary policy surprise spillovers and to estimate the response of security prices to unobservable
monetary and nonmonetary surprises.
Our estimates of the impact of domestic monetary policy surprises on domestic yields and
returns are similar to other studies. The following results are new. US monetary policy surprises
spill over and a§ect Australian yields and equity returns. Australian monetary surprises do not
spill over to the US. Nonmonetary surprises are more important in explaining the movements in
longer maturity yields and returns than monetary policy surprises.