Day trading pre-market open April 17

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome and @Patterns.


Outlook for the day: Negative after tariff warnings from the Federal Reserve and Nvidia helped drag US stocks sharply lower. Wall Street will trade twice before the ASX reopens on Tuesday: tonight and on Monday.

ASX futures: down 26 points or 0.33%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks slumped after index heavyweight Nvidia and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned about negative impacts from the White House's trade policy.
• The Nasdaq led the retreat with a loss of 3.07%. The S&P 500 shed 2.24%. The Dow gave up 700 points or 1.73%.
• Chipmaker Nvidia was the biggest drag on the major benchmarks, falling 6.87% after announcing it will take a US$5.5 billion charge on graphics processing units intended for China after the government told the company it would need an export licence to ship the chips. China has historically been the company's fourth-largest customer. Chinese AI breakout startup DeepSeek used Nvidia's H20 processors in its development. Nvidia contends that export controls will stifle competition and will erode US tech dominance. Also weighing on the stock price: a New York Times report that the White House intends to crack down on DeepSeek.
• Other chipmakers followed Nvidia lower. The PHLX Semiconductor Index declined 4.1%. AMD and ASML both lost more than 7%.
• Last night's sell-off deepened after Fed Chair Powell warned US growth appeared to be slowing and tariffs could stoke inflation and were "likely to move us further away from our goals".
• "The data in hand so far suggest that growth has slowed in the first quarter from last year’s solid pace," Powell said, but he added that the economy remained solid and the central bank would need more evidence of weakness to adjust rates.
• Energy was the only S&P sector to resist the selldown, rising 0.8%. Sectors dominated by Big Tech accounted for most of the weakness: tech -3.94%, consumer discretionary -2.69% and communication services -2.48%.
• Gold soared to a new high as the US dollar index fell back towards a three-year low and the White House continued to pursue its trade war with China. Gold futures settled US$84.10 or 2.6% higher at US$3,324.50 an ounce. The spot price was lately up US$92 or 2.83% at US$3,343.
• "Gold remains heavily supported by a broadly weaker dollar, uncertainty around tariff announcements and fears about a global recession. Beyond $3,300, it's all about psychological levels for gold prices. Bulls may target $3,400, $3,500, and upwards. However, a bout of profit-taking or positive U.S.-China trade developments could trigger a selloff" - Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM (per Reuters).
• Oil jumped 1.82% after the White House announced sanctions on Chinese importers of Iranian crude. Also supporting prices: an OPEC statement that some members will reduce output to make up for prior production beyond their quotas. Brent crude settled US$18.18 or 1.82% ahead at US$65.85 a barrel.
• Copper rose for the fifth time in six sessions after upbeat Chinese economic data settled nerves about demand heading into the trade war. Measures of GDP, industrial production, employment and retail sales all came in significantly stronger than economists. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange firmed 0.48% to US$9,208 a metric ton. Prices hit a 16-month low at US$8,105 ten days ago after trading as high as US$10,164.50 in March.
• Iron ore finished little changed in China as traders weighed yesterday's positive economic signals against the danger Beijing will hold off on additional stimulus measures until the economy shows more weakness. Data yesterday showed the Chinese economy expanded 5.4% in the first quarter, cooling expectations for aggressive stimulus measures as the trade war stifles demand. Benchmark ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 0.14% weaker at US$96.35 a metric ton.

Key events today:

• March jobs report - 11.30 am AEST (Expected: +39,800 jobs; 4.2% unemployment)
• Q3 business confidence - 11.30 am
• Earnings from Netflix, UnitedHealth and AmEx - tonight
• US unemployment claims - tonight

S&P 500: down 121 points or 2.24%

Dow: down 700 points or 1.73%

Nasdaq: down 516 points or 3.07%

VIX: up 8.37% to 32.64

US 10-year treasury yield: down 5.4 points to 4.285%

Dollar: up 0.54% to 63.7 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 0.14% to US$96.35

Brent crude: up US$18.18 or 1.82% to US$65.85

Gold (futures): US$84.10 or 3.3% to US$3,324.50

Gold (spot): up US$92 or 2.83% to US$3,343

Silver (spot): up 36 US cents or 1.1% to US$32.75

Palladium (spot): down US$3 or 0.31% to US$960

Antimony (China ore): down 0.19% to US$25,194

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 2.32%

Bitcoin: up 0.48% to US$84,391

Copper (LME): up 0.48% to US$9,208

Nickel (LME): up 0.39% to US$15,595

Lithium carbonate (China spot battery grade): down 0.19% to 8,625 yuan

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.63%

Uranium (spot): up 0.5% to US$64.88

Global X Uranium ETF (URA): down 0.09%

BHP: down 1.34% (US); down 0.48% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 0.17% (US); up 0.01% (UK)