Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome and @Patterns.
Outlook for the day: Futures action points to a neutral start to the session, however a huge day of domestic earnings and the US reaction to a trading update from index heavyweight Nvidia will provide direction.
ASX futures: up 3 points or 0.03%
Overnight themes:
US stocks edged higher ahead of an after-hours trading update from chip giant Nvidia seen as a crucial test for this year's ferocious rally in AI-related companies.
The S&P 500 rallied 0.24% in regular trade to a new record close. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.21%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 147 points or 0.32%.
Nvidia reported shortly after the end of regular US trade this morning. Its shares were lately down 2.35% in volatile after-hours action as a cautious revenue forecast sharpened fears of a slowdown in demand, overshadowing revenue and profit beats. The chipmaker's stock initially slumped 5% in after-hours trade before trimming its fall. The company is seen as a bellwether for Artificial Intelligence applications. It had risen 35% this year to become the world's largest company by market cap, accounting for around 8% of the S&P 500 index by weighting.
Big Tech was mixed in regular trade. Palantir, Tesla, Netflix and Nvidia posted modest losses, while Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet all rose.
Energy, tech and real estate were the best of the S&P sectors, gaining between 0.43% and 1.15%. The materials and financial sectors both gained around 0.2%. Three sectors closed red but by less than 0.1%: industrials, health and communication services.
Iron ore declined for a second session following signs that Chinese steel demand may be softening. Steel inventories monitored by the state-backed China Iron and Steel Association increased 4% between August 11-20 from the prior 10-day period. Benchmark iron ore retreated 0.64% in daytime trade on the Dalian Commodity Exchange to US$108.70 a metric ton. Steel and other steelmaking ingredients also declined.
Copper's four-session win streak on the London Metal Exchange ended as the greenback rallied and Chinese industrial profits shrank for a third straight month. "Chinese demand is showing signs of slowing, with headwinds for the economy including tariffs and the ailing property sector," Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING, told Reuters. Benchmark LME copper dropped 0.65% to US$9,773.50 a metric ton. Nickel, aluminium, lead and zinc also fell.
A rally in gold lost momentum as the US dollar rose and traders turned cautious ahead of US inflation data that will impact the outlook for US interest rates. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Expenditures, is due tomorrow night. "If (the data) is a miss showing stronger inflation, that might begin to call into question whether the Fed's going to be able to cut interest rates in September," Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at **promotion blocked** Metals, told Reuters. However, Wycoff added that it would "take an awfully strong inflation number to preempt the Fed from cutting rates in September." Spot gold was lately up US$3.24 or 0.1% to US$3,397 an ounce. A few hours earlier, US gold futures settled US$15.60 or 0.5% ahead at US$3,448.60.
The last major day of the domestic earnings season brings a slew of trading updates from heavyweights, including Wesfarmers, Qantas and South32. More details directly below.
Key events today:
S&P 500: up 15 points or 0.24%
Dow: up 147 points or 0.32%
Nasdaq: up 46 points or 0.21%
VIX: up 1.57% to 14.85
US 10-year treasury yield: down 2.9 points to 4.239%
Dollar: up 0.1% to 65.02 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): down 0.64% to US$108.70
Brent crude: up 83 US cents or 1.23% to US$68.05
Gold (futures): up US$15.60 or 0.5% to US$3,448.60
Gold (spot): up US$3.24 or 0.1% to US$3,397
Silver (spot): down 3 US cents or 0.08% to US$38.58
Palladium (spot): up US$5 or 0.46% to US$1,094
Antimony (China ore): up 0.11% to US$19,514
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.16%
Bitcoin: up 0.74% to US$112,031
Copper (LME): down 0.65% to US$9,773.50
Nickel (LME): down 0.59% to US$15,190
Lithium carbonate (China spot battery grade): down 0.02% to US$10,078
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 0.91%
Uranium (spot): steady at US$74.50
Global X Uranium ETF (URA): down 1.9%
BHP: up 0.4% (US); up 0.54% (UK)
Rio Tinto: up 0.26% (US); down 0.15% (UK)
