Daytrading Feb 27 pre-market

Morning traders. Thanks Trees and after-market regulars. Also Mitta for stepping in yesterday afternoon. My IT hitch is hopefully cleared up.

Market wrap:

Futures traders anticipate a steady open for Australian shares this morning after the market yesterday pre-empted overnight weakness on Wall Street amid mixed US economic data and a plunge in oil.

The March SPI 200 futures contract edged up seven points or 0.1% to 5885 despite a pullback from record levels on Wall Street as energy stocks dropped more than 2%.

The S&P 500 retreated for a second night, touching its lowest level of the week before paring its loss to three points or 0.15%. The Dow gave up 11 points or 0.06% and the Nasdaq rallied 21 points or 0.42% for its 11th gain in 12 sessions as tech stocks continue to outpace the broader market. The S&P 500 has put on 5.8% this month and is on track for its best monthly return since October 2011, while the Nasdaq is up 7.6% and just 1.2% off its all-time high before the dot.com crash in 2000.

"It's one of the strongest months in years for the S&P 500," Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in the US, told Reuters. "The Nasdaq [is] just a hair away from all-time highs, and we came up very far, very fast. But we've had a big move... and you have to expect some profit-taking."

Economic data offered no clear theme, with consumer prices mixed, orders for durable goods rebounding and jobless claims jumping higher. Although headline annual inflation fell to -0.1%, thanks in large part to falling fuel prices, core consumer inflation (excluding energy and food) edged up 0.2% last month, pushing the annual core rate to 1.6%, not far off the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

Orders for US-made big-ticket items such as appliances, cars and planes rebounded from four months of declines with their biggest increase in six months, rising 2.8% in January. First-time claims for unemployment benefits surged 31,000 to 313,000, their highest in seven weeks.

Energy stocks dived 1.85% as oil slumped to its lowest level in nearly a month. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery settled $2.82 or 5.5% lower at US$48.17 a barrel as the US dollar rallied on expectations that the rise in core inflation pushes the Fed closer to raising rates. WTI has fallen for six of the last seven sessions.

BHP fell from a three-month high in the US as iron ore declined for a second day. The Big Australian lost 1.31% in US trade, while Rio Tinto rallied 0.26%. Spot iron ore for import to China yesterday dropped 40 cents to US$62.50 a dry tonne.

Gold stocks rallied 1.11% as gold settled at its highest point in more than a week. Gold for April delivery improved US$8.60 or 0.7% to settle at US$1,210.10 an ounce.  

Copper hit a six-week high as the return of Chinese buyers after the Lunar New Year break encouraged further short covering. In London, copper rallied 2.2%, aluminium 0.6%, lead 0.6% and zinc 0.6%. Nickel and tin both fell 0.1%. US copper for March delivery was recently up 1.8% or more than five cents at US$2.71 a pound.

Germany's benchmark share index hit its 18th record high of the year after unemployment fell more than expected and a measure of consumer sentiment improved. The DAX advanced 1.04%, France's CAC 0.59%, Britain's FTSE 0.21% and the Stoxx Europe 600 1.02%.

The dollar was this morning buying 77.94 US cents, falling more than a cent overnight as the US dollar surged.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

EARNINGS, CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS: Wall Street continued its recent trend towards selling for much of the session before rebounding in the final hour. In other words, 'buy the dip' remains the prevailing mantra. Our dollar took a tumble overnight as forex traders decided the core inflation reading in the US was strong enough to increase the odds that the Fed will raise rates within a few months. Energy stocks retreated, while goldies improved. BHP gave back a fraction of its recent gains. The holiday break in China seems to have done little for iron ore demand. Earnings continue to provide much of the trading interest here - reports are due today from APO, CAB, DMP, HVN, TWE, VGI, VTG and WOW (sources: Fairfax, BRR).

ECONOMIC NEWS: Monthly private sector credit data are due at 11.30am EST. A big data dump ahead in the US tonight includes preliminary quarterly GDP and GDP price index, revised consumer sentiment and inflation expectations, pending home sales, the Chicago PMI and speeches by two Fed officials.

Good luck to all.