Day trading pre-market open April 15

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Negative as Iran's attack on Israel over the weekend further depresses market sentiment following a sharp sell-off on Wall Street on Friday.

ASX futures: down 50 points or 0.64%


Friday/weekend themes:

• US stocks slumped after banking earnings disappointed, rising oil prices fuelled inflation fears and as investors turned cautious ahead of an expected Iranian attack on Israel.
• A "flight to safety" saw the US dollar and bond yields rally, while stocks fell. The Dow briefly dropped more than 580 points before trimming its slide to 476 points or 1.24%. The S&P 500 shed 1.46%. The Nasdaq lost 1.62%.
• A new quarterly reporting season got off to a downbeat start as investors dumped bank stocks. JPMorgan Chase dived 6.47% after net interest income fell short of expectations and CEO Jamie Dimon warned of the impact of inflationary pressures on the US economy. Among other companies reporting, Wells Fargo declined 0.39% and Citigroup lost 1.7%.
• Mining and tech stocks led a retreat that lowered all S&P sectors. The materials sector lost 1.77%, tech 1.64% and consumer discretionary 1.61%. Utilities - the best of a bad bunch - fell 0.74%.
• A six-month high in crude did not spare the energy sector, which fell 1.54%. Similarly, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index of US precious metal miners lost 1.65% even as metal prices crept higher.
• “We’re getting further risk off sentiment heading into the weekend. You’re seeing there’s a flight to safety trade, with the dollar stronger, and we’re seeing equities sell off” - Rob Haworth, U.S. Bank Wealth Management senior investment strategist (per CNBC).
• Rising oil prices added to worries about inflation. Oil touched a near six-month high on Friday before paring its rally. Brent crude settled 71 US cents or 0.8% ahead at US$90.45 a barrel after trading as high as US$92.18. Analysts predict further gains when trade resumes in the wake of Saturday's Iranian attack on Israel.
• The S&P 500 dropped 1.56% for the week. The Dow lost 2.37% and the Nasdaq 0.45%.
• Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday in what it described as retaliation for an Israeli assault on Iran's consulate in Syria. While Iran said it considered the matter "concluded", Israel warned last week that it would strike back if Iran attacked.
• Bitcoin continued to fall this morning following its worst sell-off in more than a year. The token plunged 7.7% on Saturday as financial markets displayed a typical "flight to cash" after the Iran attack. Bitcoin was lately down 0.98% at US$63,570 a coin.

Key events this week:

• US Q1 reporting season - all week
• US retail sales - tonight
• China factory output, GDP, retail sales - Tuesday
• "Fireside chat" with US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell - Tuesday
• March employment report - Thursday
• Quarterly business confidence - Thursday

S&P 500: down 76 points or 1.46%

Dow: down 476 points or 1.24%

Nasdaq: down 267 points or 1.62%

Dollar: down 0.32% to 64.65 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 3.1% to US$118.59

Brent crude: up 71 US cents or 0.8% to US$90.45

Gold: up US$1.40 or 0.1% to US$2,374.10

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 1.65%

Bitcoin: down 0.98% to US$63,570

Copper (LME): up 0.07% to US$9,464.50

Nickel (LME): up 0.42% to US$17,775

Uranium (spot price): steady at US$90

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.44% to US$15,560

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 3.84%

BHP: down 1.56% (US); up 1.66% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 0.42% (US); up 2.77% (UK)