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

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


Outlook for the day: Positive following signs of investors dipping their toes back into risk assets overnight after Wednesday's blood bath.

ASX futures: up 33 points or 0.42%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks finished mixed after investors faded an attempted rebound from Wednesday's heavy selling. Late pressure on megacap tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq and S&P 500 into the red. The Dow clung on to a gain of 0.2% after being up as much as 1.5%.
• The Nasdaq and S&P 500 turned negative in afternoon trade as a rotation out of AI chip-makers and other tech leaders continued. Nvidia lost 1.72%, Meta 1.7% and Microsoft 2.45%. Alphabet lost 3.1% a day after a weak earning report helped trigger the Nasdaq's biggest fall since 2022.
• “There’s a changing of the guard happening on Wall Street. The AI stocks that led on the way up are now leading on the way down” - Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments (per CNBC).
• Small caps continued to attract some of the funds flowing out of Big Tech. The Russell 2000 index gained 1.26%.
• The Dow was boosted by a 4.33% rally in IBM after the computing giant raised its annual growth forecast.
• Wall Street's "fear gauge", the VIX or volatility index, climbed to a 14-week high.
• The two sectors with the biggest weighting on the ASX - financials and materials - both bounced in the US. S&P financials gained 0.28%. The materials sector put on 0.26%. Energy and industrials also rose.
• The night's worst-performing sectors were communication services -1.86%, tech -1.14% and utilities -0.88%.
• BHP and Rio Tinto rebounded in overseas trade despite a fifth straight drop in iron ore. Benchmark ore declined 1.55% in China to US$105.50 a metric ton. Prices in Singapore fell below the US$100 barrier, hitting US$99.75, according to Reuters. BHP firmed 0.66% in US trade and 0.33% in London. Rio gained 1.32% (US) and 0.77% (London).
• Precious metals tumbled after an acceleration in US economic growth threatened to push back rate cuts. The US economy expanded 2.8% last quarter, trumping forecasts for a gain of 2%. Gold slumped 2.6% to a three-week low. Silver shed 4.57%.
• “Ugly few days in the stock market, and gold breaking below $2,400 was all the excuse traders needed to trim positions” - Jake Hanley, managing director and senior portfolio specialist at Teucrium Trading (per MarketWatch).
• Oil bounced off a six-week low as part of a general recovery in risk assets. Brent crude firmed 0.8%.

Key events today:

• US inflation data (PCE) - tonight

S&P 500: down 28 points or 0.51%

Dow: up 81 points or 0.2%

Nasdaq: down 161 points or 0.93%

Dollar: down 0.54% to 65.38 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 1.55% to US$105.50

Brent crude: up 66 US cents or 0.8% to US$82.37

Gold: down US$62.20 or 2.6% to US$2,353.50

Silver: down US$1.34 or 4.57% to US$27.98

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 2.44%

Bitcoin: down 0.09% to US$65,665

Copper (LME): down 0.14% to US$9,091

Nickel (LME): up 0.09% to US$15,850

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 1.22% to US$11,624

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 1.13%

Uranium (spot): down 0.78% to US$82.50

BHP: up 0.66% (US); up 0.33% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 1.32% (US); 0.77% (UK)