Day trading pre-market open December 1

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome and @Patterns. (And great to have a rare but always welcome cameo from @MemeFx.)


Outlook for the day: Mildly negative as a little of yesterday's end-of-month institutional "window dressing" unwinds. The ASX 200 surged 52 points or 0.74% yesterday, with much of the buying coming late in the session.

ASX futures: down 9 points or 0.13%


Overnight themes:

• The Dow closes at a 2023 high during a mixed night for major US share benchmarks as tech stocks weigh on the Nasdaq.
• A profit beat from Salesforce helps lift the Dow almost 1.5% at the end of its best month since October 2022. Shares in Salesforce jump 9.36%, offsetting weakness in Microsoft and Intel as treasury yields rise.
• "We're putting the cherry on top of a banner month... It's a nice reminder for investors how worried everyone was a month ago, and we just finished one of the best months in history for stocks" - Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group (per Reuters).
• Bond markets shrug off further evidence that inflationary pressures are easing. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, shows an annual gain of 3.5% this month, down from 3.7% in October. The annual increase is the smallest in two and a half years.
• Other reports show growth in consumer spending slowed last month and claims for unemployment benefits ticked higher last week.
• "The data this morning provide more ammunition for [Fed Chair] Powell and others at the Fed who are looking at an extended hold for policy, rather than an additional rate hike to curb inflation pressures" - Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital (per Reuters).
• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have their strongest month in some time. The S&P 500's November gain is its best since July 2022. The Nasdaq's tally is only exceeded this year by its January rally.
• Health, industrials, financials and materials are last night's best-performing sectors, all gaining at least 0.97%. The only drags are the three sectors dominated by megacap growth stocks: tech, consumer discretionary and communication services.
• Oil falls despite an OPEC+ pledge to reduce production next year. The oil cartel announces members will make voluntary cuts to reduce overall production by two million barrels a day, including an extension of previously announced cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Market commentators blame the retreat in prices on scepticism about whether smaller countries will adhere to the plan.
• “What the market was hoping for was a unified voice on agreed-upon cuts... It sounds like it will be up to each voluntary contributor, and that brings up the issue of discipline” - Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA Research (per MarketWatch).
• Iron ore seals a fourth straight monthly rise with its first gain in six sessions. China ore futures rebound 1.4%. The benchmark contract increased 6.63% in November, prompting government intervention.
• Gold backs off a six-month high as the US dollar and treasury yields rebound.

Key events today:

• China manufacturing PMI - 12.45 pm AEDT
• US manufacturing PMI - tonight
• US Federal Reserve Chair Powell participates in two discussions on the economy - tonight

S&P 500: up 17 points or 0.38%

Dow: up 520 points or 1.47%

Nasdaq: down 32 points or 0.23%

Dollar: down 0.14% to 66.07 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 1.4% to US$134.15

Brent crude: down 27 US cents or 0.32% to US$82.83

Gold: down US$9.90 or 0.48% to US$2,057.20

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.01%

Bitcoin: down 0.03% to US$37,576

Copper (LME): up 0.64% to US$8,469.50

Nickel (LME): down 3.31% to US$16,635

Uranium: down 0.21% to US$81.25

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.76% to US$18,353

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 0.63%

BHP: up 0.25% (US); up 0.4% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.3% (US); down 0.02% (UK)