Day trading pre-market open December 13

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome and @Patterns.


Outlook for the day: Neutral as November inflation data does little to clarify the outlook for US rates.

ASX futures: down 1 point or 0.01%


Overnight themes:

• Wall Street's main stock benchmarks rise for a fourth night, closing at fresh 2023 highs as November inflation data lands broadly in line with expectations.
• The consumer price index rises 3.1% year-on-year, as predicted by economists. Prices rise 0.1% on a monthly basis. Core prices increase by 4% on an annual basis, in line with expectations.
• ″Bulls and bears each have their talking points about the consumer price index, but the fact of the matter was that the number was very consistent with expectations, and thus changes little” - Adam Crisafulli, founder and president of Vital Knowledge (per CNBC).
• Financial markets trim expectations for interest rate cuts in the wake of the report. The odds on a March cut falls to 43.7% from around 50% before the report. The odds on a cut in May climb from 75% to 78%. The Federal Reserve commenced a two-day meeting last night and is widely expected to leave the federal funds target rate on hold at tonight's press conference.
• A downbeat third-quarter revenue forecast drags cloud services provider Oracle down 12.46%. Alphabet eases 0.58% after Fortnite-maker Epic Games win an anti-trust trial against the Google owner's Play app store.
• Tech and financial stocks lead the advance. Both sectors gain more than 0.7%. Materials, health and industrials are next best. Energy is the biggest drag (more below). Also weak are utilities and real estate.
• Iron ore hits a nine-month high in Singapore as a meeting of China's leaders stokes stimulus hopes. Reuters says Monday's closed-door meeting was convened to discuss economic targets and plot stimulus measures for next year. Benchmark ore in Singapore touches its highest since February before paring its gain to 0.63% at US$135.85 a ton. China-traded ore advances 1.52%.
• Oil sinks to a six-month low amid fears stubborn inflation could delay US interest rate cuts. Both Brent crude and the US benchmark (West Texas Intermediate) drop to levels last seen in June. The US energy sector declines 1.35%.
• Uranium sets a new 15-year high after the US House of Representatives approves a ban on enriched Russian uranium. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Russia supplies almost a quarter of the enriched uranium used in the US.

Key events today:

• Federal Reserve interest rate decision, press conference - tonight
• US wholesale inflation (PPI) - tonight

S&P 500: up 21 points or 0.46%

Dow: up 173 points or 0.48%

Nasdaq: up 101 points or 0.7%

Dollar: down 0.07% to 65.6 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 1.52% to US$135.12

Brent crude: down US$2.79 or 3.67% to US$73.24

Gold: down 50 US cents or 0.03% to US$1,993.20

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 3.18%

Bitcoin: up 0.45% to US$41,280

Copper (LME): steady at US$8,342

Nickel (LME): down 0.36% to US$16,475

Uranium: up 2.97% to US$87

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 2.61% to US$15,590

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.43%

BHP: up 0.13% (US); up 0.41% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.4% (US); up 0.6% (UK)