Morning all
Thanks Trees et al
SPI Futures point to weaker opening after yesterdays sharp sell off, particularly the banks.
SPI down 11 points @ 5027
Wall Street pared some of its gains as oil prices fell on Thursday, but remained in positive territory as investors scoured for bargains ahead of a widely expected U.S. interest rate hike next week.
Major U.S. stock indexes have had a bruising week as a rout in oil prices took a toll on the energy sector.
Brent futures are down more than 11 percent this month and, having dipped below $40 per barrel, there are renewed expectations it might test 2008's low.
"The market is on a pause mode till we get some direction from the Fed," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
"There is some amount of bargain hunting too as investors are price sensitive and we're going to see some sloppy trading today, because there is no major economic data or news."
As concerns regarding the global economy persist, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve's meeting on Dec. 15-16, when it is expected to raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
Traders are pricing in an 85 percent chance of a rate hike next week, according to the CME Group's FedWatch.
"A rate hike is locked in and if they don't raise next week, they will upset every market," Forrest said.
S&P 500 +.25%
Nasdaq +.45%
Earlier European markets had a lacklustre session on jitters of the Fed hike and China.
FTSE -.5%
DAX +6 points to 10958
Oil traded near the lowest close in more than six years as speculation that OPEC will keep markets oversupplied outweighed a drop in US crude stockpiles.
Futures have fallen more than 10 per cent in New York since OPEC's December 4 decision to effectively abandon its output target. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised production in November to a three-year high,
according to its monthly report. US crude stockpiles fell by 3.57 million barrels last week, according to government data Wednesday. Gasoline rose after a smaller-than-projected supply gain amid strong US demand.
Oil is trading near levels last seen during the global financial crisis as Saudi Arabia leads OPEC in maintaining output and defending market share against higher-cost producers.
"Prices have dropped near seven-year lows and haven't been able to bounce back," said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "There's a focus on the bearish underlying fundamentals of the physical market. OPEC not only announced fresh three-year highs for its own production, but it also revised non-OPEC 2015 output higher."
West Texas Intermediate for January delivery dropped 42 cents, approx 1.2 per cent, to $US36.86 a barrel
Iron ore futures in China plumbed record lows on Thursday amid expectations declining steel appetite in the world's biggest consumer could shut more producers, cutting demand for the raw material.
Cash iron ore fell to a fresh decade-low at just above $US38 a tonne on Wednesday, bringing its year-to-date decline to more than 46 per cent, far more than crude oil and copper that have been similarly hit by oversupply.
Iron ore with 62 per cent content delivered to Qingdao fell 1.4 per cent to $US38.52 a dry ton on Thursday, the lowest level in daily data dating back to 2009, according to Metal Bulletin Ltd.
Gold ended the U.S. day session modestly lower Thursday. Selling pressure was mostly due to crude oil prices dropping to a near seven-year low and a solid rebound in the U.S. dollar index, after strong losses seen by the index Wednesday. Along with the bearish outside markets on this day, the overall bearish chart postures for both gold and silver markets are also keeping the sellers very confident. February Comex gold was last down $4.40 at $1,072.10 an ounce.
AUD gold $1471
Copper -.17%
Nickel -2.2%
Aluminium +.19%
Zinc -.24%
AUD 72.85
Todays news
German CPI
US Retail sales
consumer sentiment
Have a good day
