Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.
Outlook for the day: Positive for a second day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snap six-session losing streaks. The ASX 200 bounced 1.08% yesterday off a two-month low.
ASX futures: up 19 points or 0.25 %
Overnight themes:
US stocks rebound from their worst weekly losses in more than a year after the threat of a full-blown war in the Middle East appears to diminish and as traders look ahead to earnings this week from some of Wall Street's largest companies.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite break their longest losing runs since October 2022. The Dow advances for a second day.
Oil and gold retreat as Iran and Israel seek to de-escalate their running conflict. Rising oil prices over the last few weeks have stoked fears that a resurgence in inflation might force the Federal Reserve not only to delay interest rate cuts, but perhaps to consider further hikes.
All 11 US sectors rally, with tech and financials leading the way. The tech sector gains 1.28%, financials 1.2% and utilities 0.96%. Materials sees the weakest return as gold miners weigh (more below). The sector edges up 0.1%.
"I think it's just standard buy-on-the-dip after a 5% pullback that kind of wakes people up to put money to work. Investors are looking ahead to this week with hugely significant earnings coming out and with concerns about what the Fed is doing with pushing back any rate cuts" - Lamar Villere, portfolio manager at Villere & Co (per Reuters).
A huge week of trading updates includes Q1 earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla. The week ahead also brings the Fed's preferred measure of inflation on Friday.
Nvidia bounces 4.35%, recouping not quite half of Friday's thumping 10% loss. Tesla loses 3.4% after announcing price cuts to models in several major markets.
US gold miners slump after the yellow metal suffers its heaviest loss in 14 months. Gold for June delivery dives US$67.40 or 2.8% to US$2,346.40 an ounce as traders judge that Iran and Israel have backed away from the threat of a full-blown war. Silver also runs into heavy selling, shedding 5.47%, its biggest single-day percentage loss since June 2021. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index drops 4.14%.
“With Iran and Israel apparently backing away from any further direct confrontation for the time being, there was only so long that gold and silver could defy the gravity of rising bond yields and rising year-end [US interest] rate forecasts” - Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault (per Market Watch).
Oil drops to its lowest in three weeks as the danger of disruptions to Middle East production appears to diminish. Brent crude dips 0.3% to US$87 a barrel.
Iron ore finishes daytime trade in China little changed following a rally of more than 5% last week. Benchmark ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange dips less than 0.1% to US$119.63 a metric ton.
Key events today:
Flash manufacturing/services PMIs - 9 am AEST
US flash manufacturing/services PMIs - tonight
S&P 500: up 43 points or 0.87%
Dow: up 254 points or 0.67%
Nasdaq: up 169 points or 1.11%
Dollar: up 0.35% to 64.48 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): down 0.06% to US$119.63
Brent crude: down 29 US cents or 0.3% to US$87
Gold: down US$67.40 or 2.8% to US$2,346.40
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 4.14%
Bitcoin: down 0.1% to US$66,533
Copper (LME): down 0.23% to US$9,853
Nickel (LME): up 1.13% to US$19,675
Uranium (spot price): steady at US$90.75
Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.07% to US$15,362
