daytrades feb 25 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: Australian stocks are poised to open higher this morning after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke once again calmed U.S. markets.

Futures traders expect our market to open 22 points ahead of yesterday's close after advances for European and U.S. equities and a mixed night for commodity prices. The March SPI futures contract closed at 4664.

Wall Street bounced back from two days of losses as Bernanke eased fears that interest rate rises are imminent. The S&P 500 gained 0.97%, the Dow 0.89% and the Nasdaq 1% as Bernanke began two days of testimony before Congress. The Fed chairman said the recovery was not yet self-sustaining and interest rates would remain at current levels for the next few months, at least.

Financial stocks were boosted by the testimony and also by reports that President Obama's proposed legislation to curb bank's proprietary trading faces opposition from key senators. Bank stocks rallied 2.3%.

"Whether we need that regulation, good or bad, there's probably some relief that the banks might not be put through this gruelling exercise of decoupling," an equity portfolio manager told MarketWatch. "That issue, combined with keeping rates low, is affecting sentiment."

The market largely ignored bleak housing news. New-home sales plunged 11.2% in January from December, confounding economists' expectations for a slight rise in sales. The fall wiped out any gains in the housing market over the past year.

Crude oil was boosted by evidence of rising demand in the US. Crude futures rallied 1.5% to $80.05 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration's weekly report showed a fall in stockpiles and a jump in demand.

Gold fell for a third day as the International Monetary Fund's proposed sale continued to weigh on the market. The spot price was recently at $1,097.10 an ounce, down $6.40 on Tuesday's New York close.

Copper skidded lower for a third session in London on signs of weakening Chinese demand but inched higher in New York. In London, copper dropped 0.8 %, aluminium 0.3%, lead 2.2%, nickel 0.2% and zinc 2.1%.

European markets recorded modest gains. Britain's FTSE rose 0.52%, Germany's DAX 0.2% and France's CAC 0.23%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

BERNANKE TO THE RESCUE: Whatever you think about Bernanke, every time he opens his mouth the market rallies. Wall Street wants low interest rates and it's going to get them for some time to come. That said, local futures traders don't seem too convinced by last night's rally and expect our market to recover less than a third of yesterday's losses at today's opening bell. There is plenty of potential market-moving news scheduled in the U.S. tonight and tomorrow and recent trends have been ominous. I remain cautious and will stick to intraday trading until the outlook improves.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The Conference Board's Leading Index of economic indicators is due at 10 am. Also this morning: private capital expenditure at 11.30 am. A busy night ahead in the U.S., with further testimony from Ben Bernanke, durable goods orders, unemployment claims, natural gas storage and the house price index.

Good luck to all.