Morning traders. Thanks @ttward and lounge lizards.
Overnight round-up and day ahead:
A cautiously positive open to Australian trade looks on the cards after optimism over earnings season lifted US stocks.
The SPI 200 index futures contract edged up 11 points or 0.2 per cent to 6641 as futures traders weighed tech-led gains on Wall Street against declines in iron ore and most industrial metals.
US stocks rebounded from their worst weekly loss since May on broker upgrades for computer chipmakers and as traders rotated into stocks seen as likely to excel during a big week of corporate profit reports. The S&P 500 advanced eight points or 0.28 per cent.
The tech sector rose 1 per cent ahead of quarterly updates this week from Facebook, Amazon and Google parent company, Alphabet. That helped lift the Nasdaq 58 points or 0.71 per cent. The tech-lite Dow Jones Industrial Average was hamstrung by a downbeat report from plane-maker Boeing, ending with a slim gain of 18 points or 0.07 per cent.
More than a quarter of S&P 500 companies are due to report earnings this week. Of the 15 per cent of companies that have reported already, 78.5 per cent have beaten earnings expectations, confounding fears of a so-called "earnings recession".
The ASX 200 eased nine points or more than 0.1 per cent yesterday and this morning faces a fairly sharp retreat in iron ore. The spot ore price at China's Tianjin slumped $3.75 or 3.1 per cent to $US118.10 a dry tonne amid reports of rising inventory at Chinese ports. A mixed night for the big two Australian ore miners saw BHP's US-listed shares rise 0.29 per cent and its UK shares 0.1 per cent, while Rio Tinto's US shares dropped 0.59 per cent and its UK shares 0.68 per cent.
Industrial metals came under pressure from a rising US dollar and demand concerns. Nickel hit a 13-month peak last week as inventories fell to six-year lows, but overnight tumbled 3.1 per cent amid a wave of profit-taking. London copper dropped 0.8 per cent, aluminium 1.7 per cent, lead 2.1 per cent and zinc 0.3 per cent. Tin was bid up 0.3 per cent in closing rings.
Silver outshone gold to settle at a 13-month high. September silver climbed 21.6 cents or 1.3 per cent to $US16.41 an ounce. Gold hovered near a six-year peak, settling 20 cents or less than 0.1 per cent ahead at $US1,426.90 an ounce.
Oil recorded gains amid fears over production flow from the Middle East after Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. Roughly a third of seaborne global production moves through the gulf each year. Brent crude settled 79 cents or 1.3 per cent higher at $US63.26 a barrel.
On currency markets, the dollar dipped a tenth of a cent to 70.34 US cents.
Not a lot on the economic calendar today. RBA Assistant Governor Chris Kent is scheduled to deliver a speech this morning pre-market. Wall Street has housing figures tonight, but the spotlight is likely to be on profit reports.
Breakfast
Good news for anyone with a sweet tooth: today is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day.
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@mirren
