Day trading pre-market open February 21

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Negative following a losing start to the week on Wall Street and a heavy fall in the price of iron ore.

ASX futures: down 26 points or 0.34%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks sink as traders reduce their exposure ahead of this morning's trading update from market-leader Nvidia.
• The Nasdaq leads the retreat as Nvidia drops 4.35%. An index of chip-makers declines 1.56%.
• Nvidia is due to release quarterly earnings shortly after the end of regular trade this morning. Excitement over Artificial Intelligence applications has fuelled much of Wall Street's gains over the last four months.
• Most members of the 'Magnificent 7' group of market-leaders fall amid questions about upside after recent gains. Tesla sheds 3.1%.
• “With technology now trading at close to 30x forward estimates, that seems to be a ceiling for the tech sector. Makes it pretty hard for additional PE multiple expansion” - Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research (per CNBC).
• The Dow is cushioned by a 3.26% bounce in Walmart as the retailer raises its dividend and earnings forecast and announces it will acquire television manufacturer Vizio for US$2.3 billion.
• Wall Street's five-week winning run ended last week as January inflation data cast doubt over the timing of this year's interest rate cuts. Most economists now expect the first cut no earlier than June, according to a Reuters poll. The minutes from this month's Federal Reserve meeting are due for release tonight.
• The defensive consumer staples sector resists the selling, gaining 1.13%. The biggest drags are tech -1.27%, consumer discretionary -1% and energy -0.95%. The financials and materials sectors both lose less than 0.4%.
• Iron ore tumbles amid weak demand signals since trade resumed after the Lunar New Year holiday. The most-traded May ore contract slides 5.41% on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange to US$126.35 a ton, the lowest since November 1. In Singapore, benchmark prices drop 4.39% to US$121.19. BHP and Rio Tinto log solid losses in US and UK trade.
• "The sharp fall in price is partly because the recovery in ore demand as reflected by hot metal output has been slower than expected after the holiday break" - a Chinese trader told Reuters under condition of anonymity.
• Copper and nickel rally in London trade after China cuts a key mortgage benchmark. The People's Bank of China surprised markets by cutting the five-year loan prime rate yesterday by 25 basis points, its biggest ever cut. Copper advances 1.14%. Nickel climbs 0.52%.

Key events today:

• Earnings season: Rio Tinto, Santos, Woolworths, WiseTech, Domino's Pizza, Stockland, Scentre Group, Charter Hall Group, Iluka, Corporate Travel Management, Iress, National Storage REIT, Smartgroup, The Lottery Corporation, Viva Energy, Ventia Services (source: CommSec).
• Q2 Wage Price Index - 11.30 am AEDT
• Minutes from this month's Federal Reserve policy meeting - tonight

S&P 500: down 30 points or 0.6%

Dow: down 64 points or 0.17%

Nasdaq: down 145 points or 0.92%

Dollar: up 0.38% to 65.55 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 5.41% to US$126.35

Brent crude: down US$1.22 or 1.46% to US$82.34

Gold: up US$15.70 or 0.8% to US$2,039.80

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.44%

Bitcoin: down 0.18% to US$51,923

Copper (LME): up 1.14% to US$8,531

Nickel (LME): up 0.52% to US$16,470

Uranium (spot price): down 0.17% to US$102.50

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.15% to US$13,429

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 3.22%

BHP: down 3.7% (US); down 3.45% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 4.62% (US); down 3.65% (UK)