Morning Bid: Dancing robots, dumping bonds

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook

Long bond yields steadied near multi-decade highs and China's humanoid robotics giant Unitree leapt out of the blocks on debut on Wednesday, trading six times above its offer price.

The summer's long bond selloff has traders debating what's really behind it: brighter prospects for growth, or rising alarm over stubborn inflation and the strain of runaway government spending.

Later on Wednesday the U.S. adds to its almost $40 trillion debt pile with a $16 billion 20-year note auction and the Federal Reserve releases its minutes from last month's meeting.

Both are under the spotlight as investors question the Fed's ability to keep long-term inflation under control and demand higher compensation for lending to the U.S. government.

The contrast with China is stark. As 10-year sovereign futures touched a record high on Tuesday, investor demand for hyperscaler debt showed little sign of cooling, with Alphabet's bond sale down under the latest deal to draw strong interest.

Unitree, meanwhile, is tapping hearty demand for technology exposures with its listing 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors. Simultaneously more than 300 companies are expected at the World Robot Conference in Beijing and are vying to show that robots are not just crowd-pleasing feats of strength and agility, but businesses capable of delivering returns in the real world.

Final inflation figures are due in Europe and Britain, and in the latter case the numbers are seen rising to 2.9% from 2.6%, while earnings at Target, TJX and Lowe's will be in focus in the U.S. following soft retail sales figures last week.

Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:

- Economics: Eurozone and British inflation

- Earnings: Target, TJX, Lowe's

- Policy: Fed minutes, Lagarde speaks

- U.S. 20-year debt auction

(By Tom Westbrook; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)