daytrades feb 26 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: Australian stocks are set to open modestly higher after Wall Street trimmed heavy early losses after weak jobs data and worries over Greek debt.

Futures traders expect our market to open 11 points ahead this morning after two days of selling. The March SPI futures contract closed at 4586 after a volatile night of trade in the U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged around 180 points in early trade but pared its loss to 53 points or 0.51% by the close. The broader S&P 500 finished 0.21% lower and the Nasdaq was nearly flat at -0.08%.

The falls came after weak jobless numbers renewed fears about the outlook in the U.S. and warnings from ratings agencies about Greece reminded investors that European debt problems remain a running sore. Standard & Poor's said Greece was close to being downgraded to "junk" status within a month. Moody's said it would keep its rating unchanged only if promised government spending cuts are delivered.

U.S. jobless claims surged last week to their highest level in at least three months. Economists had expected claims to fall by 13,000.

Precious metals miners bounced back from heavy losses this week as gold, silver and platinum found support. An index of U.S. gold/silver miners rallied 2.9% after gold dipped to a two-week low but recovered as the U.S. dollar index slipped into the red. The spot gold price was recently at $1,105.90 an ounce, almost $9 higher than Wednesday's New York close.

Crude oil futures slumped towards $77 a barrel but rallied with U.S. equities to trade recently at $78.31, off 2.1% for the session.

Industrial metal prices sagged under the uncertain outlook for the global economy. In London, copper fell to a one-week low, down 1.9%, aluminium dropped 2.4%, lead 3.2%, nickel 1.3%, tin 2.1% and zinc 3.8%.

"In 2010 it's unrealistic to expect China to support copper prices. Demand from Europe and the U.S. has to improve. Copper consumption in China is likely to grow at a slower pace from last year," Liu Xu of China International Futures told Reuters.

In Europe, improving bank earnings results failed to off-set worries over Greece. Britain's FTSE slumped 1.2%, Germany's DAX 1.5% and France's CAC 2%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

REASONS WHY OUR MARKET SHOULD FALL TODAY: Deteriorating outlook in the U.S.; European debt worries; Chinese slowdown; soft overnight base metals and oil prices; red finish in Europe and the States. Also, it's Friday.

REASONS WHY OUR MARKET SHOULD RALLY: Strong bounce off the overnight low in the U.S.; Bernanke has promised cheap money in the U.S. for some time to come; rising overnight precious metals prices; our market took its medicine yesterday; possible short covering ahead of the weekend.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Monthly private sector credit figures are due at 11.30 am. Sentiment in the U.S. will be tested by tonight's Q4 GDP numbers, existing home sales, revised consumer sentiment and inflation expectations and the Chicago Business Barometer.

Good luck to all.