Morning traders. A million thanks to the crew who kept the threads ticking over last week while I blew a year's earnings trying to entertain bored teenagers.
Everything seemed to run like clockwork here? Terrific work @speckledjim1 (tough act to follow), @just browsing and @RubyRuby01. Thanks also to @Endless for a safety-net cameo and of course the indefatigable @shovel40.
Outlook for the day: Marginally positive following a flat close on Wall Street and a mixed session for commodity prices heading into a US long weekend.
ASX futures: up 5 points or 0.07%
Friday themes:
- Wall Street's main stock indices finish mixed but broadly positive as a new quarterly earnings season gets underway and signs of cooling wholesale inflation offset worries about hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data earlier in the week.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq inch higher. A weak trading update from UnitedHealth drags the Dow into the red as trading winds down for the Martin Luther King Jr Day long weekend (NYSE, Nasdaq closed tonight).
- Interest rate worries are assuaged by an unexpected decline in producer prices last month. The producer price index eases 0.1% in December. A revision to the November report means producer prices have now fallen for three straight months, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to consider rate cuts. Market pricing on a March cut rises from 73.2% a day earlier to 79.5%, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
- “The path continues to clear for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates in 2024 and to slow the pace at which they shrink their balance sheet” - Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank (per CNBC).
- UnitedHealth sinks 3.37% as the cost of providing medical services increases more than expected. The decline knocks 120 points off the Dow. The news also drags other health insurers lower.
- Most of the big banks fall after reporting Q4 earnings. Wells Fargo sheds 3.34%, JPMorgan Chase 0.73% and Bank of America 1.06%. Job cuts help Citigroup buck the trend with a rise of 1.04%. The S&P 500 Banks Index loses 1.27%.
- Other notable falls on Friday include Delta Air Lines (-8.97%, profit downgrade) and Tesla (-3.67%, price reductions).
- Energy, real estate and communication services are the pick of the sectors, gaining between 0.62% and 1.26%. Tech and materials also advance. The biggest drags are consumer discretionary -1.05%, health -0.29% and financials -0.23%.
- Rising tensions in the Middle East lift oil and precious metals. Brent crude rallies 1.13% after the US and UK launch airstrikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen following weeks of Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. Gold surges 1.6%.
- Iron ore falls for the sixth time in seven sessions amid reports of sluggish Chinese steel output this year. Consultancy Shanghai Metals Market reports scheduled rebar production has fallen 6.5% this month. China-traded ore drops 1.76% on Friday.
- "Some [steel] mills have recently set up plans for a temporary reduction in production while a few others postponed the resumption of blast furnaces that had been under maintenance since December to stem the loss" - Shanghai Metals Markets.
Key events this week:
- Job ads - 11.30 am AEDT
- US public holiday (Wall Street closed) - tonight
- Consumer sentiment - Tuesday
- China industrial production, retail sales - Wednesday
- US retail sales - Wednesday
- December employment report - Thursday
- US consumer sentiment - Friday
S&P 500: up four points or 0.08%
Dow: down 118 points or 0.31%
Nasdaq: up three points or 0.02%
Dollar: up 0.06% to 66.87 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): down 1.76% to US$133.39
Brent crude: up 88 US cents or 1.13% to US$78.29
Gold: up US$32.40 or 1.6% to US$2,051.60
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 2.81%
Bitcoin: down 0.96% to US$42,690
Copper (LME): down 0.53% to US$9,295
Nickel (LME): down 0.47% to US$16,343
Uranium: steady at US$95.50
Lithium carbonate (China spot): up 0.21% to US$13,420
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.56% (5-week closing low)
BHP: down 0.36% (US); up 0.14% (UK)
Rio Tinto: up 0.17% (US); up 0.62% (UK)
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