Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome. Outlook...

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Mildly negative ahead of tonight's Federal Budget and twin US inflation reports this week.

ASX futures: down 8 points or 0.1%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks finished mixed after a report showed Americans were growing increasingly gloomy about the outlook for consumer prices.
• The Dow's longest win streak since December ended at eight with a loss of 0.21%. The S&P 500 also closed modestly lower, off 0.02%. The Nasdaq gained 0.29% as tech stocks outperformed.
• A survey showed Americans foresaw inflation at 3.3% a year from now, up from 3% when the survey was last carried out the previous month. The report followed a slump in consumer sentiment last month to a six-month low. April inflation reports are due tonight (wholesale) and tomorrow night (consumer).
• "Today and tomorrow are going to be all about Wednesday's consumer inflation report. In the last three months that's been the single biggest mover. Each of these times inflation's come in a little bit stickier than investors had expected. Each time that's happened investors have ratcheted back expectations for interest rate cuts" - Burns McKinney portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group (per Reuters).
• A revival of Covid-era meme-stock mania sent GameStop up 74.4% and AMC Entertainment up 78.35%. The rallies appeared to be triggered by the first online post by Reddit trader and meme-stock champion Roaring Kitty in three years. Short-sellers in the two stocks once again took a pounding.
• Just two of eleven S&P sectors advanced: tech +0.48% and real estate +0.29%. The biggest drags were: industrials -0.45%, financials -0.41% and consumer staples -0.28%. The materials sector finished 0.08% in the red.
• The major stock benchmarks were coming off three weeks of gains that carried them back to within touching distance of all-time highs. The Dow gained more than 2% last week.
• Copper bounced 2%, back towards two-year highs, as a third straight monthly increase in consumer prices in China hinted that the economy might be regaining momentum. Nickel and other base metals also rose.

Key events today:

• Federal Budget - tonight
• US April wholesale inflation (PPI) - tonight
• Speech by Federal Reserve Chair Powell - tonight

S&P 500: down 1 point or 0.02%

Dow: down 81 points or 0.21%

Nasdaq: up 47 points or 0.29%

Dollar: up 0.13% to 66.08 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 1.66% to US$122.77

Brent crude: up 57 US cents or 0.69% to US$83.36

Gold: down US$32 or 1.35% to US$2,343

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.77%

Bitcoin: up 3.28% to US$63,126

Copper (LME): up 2.02% to US$10,206

Nickel (LME): up 0.39% to US$19,135

Uranium (spot price): up 0.82% to US$91.75

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 1.5% to US$15,156

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 0.42%

BHP: down 0.02% (US); down 0.65% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.06% (US); down 0.73% (UK)