daytrading nov 28 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap:

Shares are set to open modestly ahead after a round of record closes on Wall Street offset multi-month lows in key commodities.

The December SPI 200 futures contract climbed 12 points or 0.2% to 5362 as US investors welcomed broadly positive economic data.

The S&P 500 shook off a mid-session wobble to advance four points or 0.24% to an all-time closing high of 1,807. The Dow put on 24 points or 0.15% for a fifth straight advance and a record finish at 16,097. The Nasdaq continued to push further into territory last seen in 2000, rising 27 points or 0.68% to 4,045.

"Things are slowly improving, confidence is coming back," Eric Marshall, president and portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in the US, told Bloomberg. "Stocks may still be attractive relative to where the interest rate environment is now. Going forward, we can still get a little more multiple expansion, but not much. The real driver for stocks will be earnings."

A slew of economic data hit trading screens ahead of tonight's Thanksgiving holiday in the US and tomorrow night's shortened session. Consumer confidence recovered following the government shutdown and debt ceiling squabble: the UMich consumer-sentiment gauge bounced back to 75.1 this month from 73.2 in October, beating expectations. First-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 10,000 to 316,000 last week, also a better reading than economists anticipated.

A measure of business activity in greater Chicago area retreated to 63 this month from 65.9 in October, its strongest level in at least two years. Orders for durable goods declined 2% last month, less than economists predicted.

The economic news was healthy enough to push traders towards cyclical stocks. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical index put on 0.85%, outperforming the broader market. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 0.58%.

The picture was less positive on commodity markets, where aluminium plumbed a four-year low, oil settled near a six-month low and gold saw its weakest close in nearly five months. Aluminium, which has lost around 15% this year, fell 0.9% on the London Metal Exchange to US$1,757, hitting levels last seen in July 2009.

"An excess of production capacity across the globe, massive stockpiles on the LME as well as off-exchange and fears for the new economic policy in China have reinforced the bearish stance in the longer run," analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov at VTB Capital told Reuters. "The technical break below key support at US$1,770 today amplified the sell-off."

Other base metals also came under pressure from a mild improvement in the US dollar following the run of US economic data beats. US copper for March delivery was recently down two cents or 0.7% at US$3.20 a pound. In London, copper lost 0.6%, lead 1%, nickel 1.2%, tin 1.4% and zinc 0.7%.

Oil's decline followed news of a 10th straight weekly increase in US crude inventories. The Energy Information Administration said supplies rose by three million barrels last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was lately down $1.32 or 1.4% at US$92.36 a barrel.

Gold relinquished early gains as the economic data appeared to further the case for tapering the Federal Reserve's inflationary stimulus program. Gold for February delivery was recently down $3.90 or 0.3% at US$1,237.60 an ounce.

BHP and Rio Tinto endured mixed fortunes in US trade. Rio rallied 1.44%, while BHP lost 0.4%. Spot iron ore for import to China edged up 10 cents to US$136 a tonne.

The major European markets gained as data showed consumer confidence in Germany at a six-year high and the British economy continuing to expand. Germany's DAX advanced 0.66%, France's CAC 0.36% and Britain's FTSE 0.19%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

ADVANCING WITH THE BRAKES ON: Likely another two-speed session coming, with Wall Street's record run lifting much of the market but declines in commodities dragging on the miners. That's all from Wall Street for now, with trading suspended for Thanksgiving tonight and opening for just a half-session tomorrow night. Another round of record closes is a nice way to go into the holiday. The ASX sometimes behaves unpredictably when it has the luxury of two sessions before Wall Street trades, so keep an open mind about the broader direction today. Domestically, the short-term trend remains negative.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Quarterly private-capital expenditure figures are due at 11.30am EST. Monthly new home sales are also scheduled. No US data tonight.

Good luck to all.