Day trading pre-market open January 23

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


Outlook for the day: Neutral as weakness in key commodities and the dollar offsets fresh highs for US stocks

ASX futures: down 1 point or 0.01%


Overnight themes:

• The Dow and S&P 500 scale fresh highs ahead of trading updates this week from several market heavyweights. The Dow rallies 0.36% to a record close. The S&P 500 climbs 0.22% to 4,850, also a closing high.
• "It’s almost like a fear of missing out. We had a little bit of volatility to start the year as investors maybe rebalance portfolios and look to realize some gains. But now, it just seems like we’re resuming the trend that was clearly in place” - Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial (per CNBC).
• The S&P 500 posts 80 new 52-week highs. Industrials, property stocks, financials and tech are the market leaders as treasury yields retreat. Industrials gain 0.74%, real estate 0.44%, financials 0.43% and tech 0.39%.
• The week ahead brings quarterly updates from Tesla, Netflix, Intel and Johnson & Johnson. Apple and Microsoft report next week. This week also brings US GDP date (Thursday) and inflation figures (Friday).
• Stocks have broken to fresh highs despite growing signs that interest rate cuts may not start until May. The odds on a March cut have fallen from above 80% to 46%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. The odds on a May cut have climbed to 53%.
• The dollar falls for the first time in three sessions as falling treasury yields and tensions in the Middle East support the greenback.
• Brent crude settles above US$80 a barrel for the first time this year following disputed reports of a Houthi missile attack on a US cargo ship. The US Navy denied Houthi claims of a "successful attack" on the Ocean Jazz, saying it had maintained contact with the ship during its "safe transit" through the Red Sea.
• Iron ore benchmarks finish mixed after China leaves benchmark lending rates on hold yesterday. Dalian ore gains 0.53%. Singapore ore eases 0.46%.
• Bitcoin dives briefly under US$40,000 a coin for the first time since March, losing more than 5% before paring its fall. The price of a coin trades as low as US$39,488 before recovering to US$40,059 in recent trade. The decline comes amid reports of significant outflows from Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, a "closed end" fund that was recently converted into an open-ended fund, allowing investors to redeem their shares for bitcoins and convert them to cash. Other cryptocurrencies follow Bitcoin lower.

Key events today:

• December business confidence - 11.30 am AEDT

S&P 500: up 11 points or 0.22%

Dow: up 138 points or 0.36%

Nasdaq: up 49 points or 0.32%

Dollar: down 0.37% to 65.7 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 0.53% to US$132.29

Brent crude: up US$1.50 or 1.91% to US$80.06

Gold: down US$7.10 or 0.3% to US$2,022.20

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.05%

Bitcoin: down 4.18% to US$40,059

Copper (LME): down 0.26% to US$8,329

Nickel (LME): down 0.25% to US$16,000

Uranium (spot price): steady at US$108

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.07% to US$13,385

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.72%

BHP: down 0.68% (US); up 0.15% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 2.13% (US); down 1.69% (UK)