Day trading pre-market open February 9

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Neutral following a muted night on Wall Street and mixed leads from commodity markets.

ASX futures: unchanged at 7,595.


Overnight themes:

• US stocks inch to fresh closing highs following positive trading updates from Disney, chip designer ARM Holdings and Spirit Airlines.
• The S&P 500 closes at a record just below the closely-watched 5,000 milestone. The index briefly brushes 5,000 in the closing minutes before closing at 4,997.91.
• Disney surges 11.49% after increasing its dividend by 50% and announcing a share buyback. ARM Holdings soars 47.89% as it emerges as the latest winner from the AI revolution. Spirit gains 3.17%.
• “Earnings continue to come in better than expected, and contribute to some pretty positive moves in specific stocks. Overall, in terms of sentiment, that’s allowed the market to continue to touch new highs” - Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors.
• Small caps and chip-makers provide some of the night's best returns. The Russell 2000 index of small caps bounces 1.41% after sitting out Wednesday's rally. The Philadelphia semiconductor index rallies 1.57%.
• Energy is the best of the sectors, rising 1.09%. Also positive: real estate +0.56%, consumer discretionary +0.29% and tech +0.14%. Drags include utilities -0.83%, financials -0.49% and materials -0.18%.
• The financial sector is pressured by on-going worries over bad debts in commercial real estate. New York Community Bancorp drops 6.58%.
• Oil advances for a fourth session after Israel rejects Hamas's ceasefire offer. Brent crude jumps more than 3%, back above US$80 a barrel.
• Iron ore nears its highest in a week as demand hopes are rekindled by news that inventories at Chinese steel mills are the lowest in two years. Ore prices in China and Singapore rise 2.4%.
• Bitcoin rallies to a four-week high above US$45,000 a coin.

Key events today:

• Earnings season: trading update from Boral.
• Testimony by RBA Governor Bullock before the House Standing Committee on Economics - 9.30 am AEDT

S&P 500: up 3 points or 0.06%

Dow: up 49 points or 0.13%

Nasdaq: up 37 points or 0.24%

Dollar: down 0.44% to 64.92 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 2.4% to US$133.90

Brent crude: up US$2.42 or 3.06% to US$81.63

Gold: down US$3.80 or 0.2% to US$2,047.90

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.77%

Bitcoin: up 3% to US$45,428

Copper (LME): down 1.03% to US$8,226

Nickel (LME): up 0.66% to US$16,090

Uranium (spot price): down 3.27% to US$101.50

Lithium carbonate (China spot): steady at US$13,480

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 1.08%

BHP: down 0.8% (US); down 0.34% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 0.61% (US); down 0.3% (UK)