Day trading pre-market open May 16

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Positive after falling inflation fuelled a round of record closes on Wall Street. However, domestic jobs data mid-morning could sway the market tone.

ASX futures: up 50 points or 0.64%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks hit all-time highs after April inflation and retail sales data advanced the case for interest rate cuts by September.
• The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq Composite all reset their records as the US dollar and treasury yields retreated. The S&P 500 closed above 5,300 for the first time. The Dow finished within 100 points of the 40,000 milestone.
• Stocks jumped after consumer price data implied inflation resumed its downtrend last month, sharpening hopes of several rate cuts this year. Consumer prices increased by a smaller-than-expected 0.3% in April, down from growth of 0.4% in March. The annual increase was 3.4%, down from 3.5% the previous month. Readings for core inflation were in line with expectations, breaking a recent run of "hotter-than-expected" readings.
• Also helping sentiment: retail sales were unchanged last month, a sign that the economy may be slowing. Economists had expected growth of 0.4%.
• The odds on a September rate cut rose to 75.3% from 65.1% the day before, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
• "It's a relief we didn't have a fourth hot CPI report. Clearly markets liked that the inflation numbers looked softer. Retail sales came in softer. It's pretty clear evidence that the economy came off the boil and is operating at a more sustainable pace" - Carol Schleif, chief investment officer at the BMO family office in Minneapolis (per Reuters).
• Most of the Magnificent Seven group of market megacaps book solid gains. Nvidia adds 3.58%, Meta 2.05%, Microsoft 1.75%, Apple 1.22% and Alphabet 1.13%.
• Amazon dips 0.58%. Tesla sheds 2.01%.
• A rally in meme stocks lost momentum. GameStop declined 18.87%. AMC Entertainment lost 20%.
• Ten of eleven sectors advanced, led by tech +2.29% and real estate +1.69%. Consumer stocks trailled: staples inched up 0.02% and the discretionary sector was unchanged.
• The Australian dollar neared 67 US cents for the first time in four months as the greenback tumbled. The Aussie was lately up more than 1% at 66.92 US cents after trading as high as 66.95 cents.
• The falling US dollar aided dollar-denominated commodity prices. The Bloomberg Commodity Index rallied 0.73%. Gold climbed to its highest in almost a month.
• Copper was boosted by reports of commodity traders being forced to buy physical copper to close out short positions after the metal hit all-time highs in the US. Trading firms Trafigura and IXM were both seeking metal, according to sources quoted by Reuters. Copper gained 1.66% in London overnight. US prices eased 0.3% after hitting a new peak yesterday.
• Iron ore was dented by worries about the demand implications of US tariff hikes on Chinese imports. The White House this week announced stiff tariff increases on a range of China-made products, including some steel products. Benchmark prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange declined 1.55%.
• Australian job figures this morning are expected to show a modest uptick in unemployment. Economists forecast the jobless rate lifted to 3.9% last month from 3.8% in March as the economy created around 22,400 new positions. A surprise in either direction would affect the outlook for interest rates.

Key events today:

• April employment report - 11.30 am AEST
• US housing starts, building permits - tonight

S&P 500: up 57 points or 1.08%

Dow: up 296 points or 0.75%

Nasdaq: up 231 points or 1.4%

Dollar: up 1.03% to 66.92 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 1.55% to US$118.78

Brent crude: up 37 US cents or 0.45% to US$82.75

Gold: up US$35 or 1.48% to US$2,394.90

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 1.12%

Bitcoin: up 6.97% to US$65,882

Copper (LME): up 1.66% to US$10,282

Nickel (LME): up 2.87% to US$19,550

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

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 1.37% to US$14,891

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.9%

BHP: up 0.82% (US); down 0.09% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.92% (US); down 0.59% (UK)