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

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Positive after two of Wall Street's three benchmarks closed at records.

ASX futures: up 19 points or 0.25%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks hit fresh highs after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted progress on bringing down inflation, while an increase in job openings soothed worries about rising unemployment.
• The S&P 500 rallied 0.62%, closing above 5,500 for the first time. The Dow gained 0.41%. Trading volumes were lighter than usual ahead of Thursday's Independence Day public holiday.
• A 10.2% surge in Tesla helped the Nasdaq climb 0.84% to a record close. The electric car-maker's stock reached its highest since January after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q2 vehicle deliveries.
• Treasury yields retreated and stocks rose after Powell told a central banking forum, “We’ve made quite a bit of progress in bringing inflation back down to our target.” Powell said the US was on a "disinflationary path", but policy-makers needed "to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2%... before we start... loosening policy."
• Separately, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said there were "warning signs that the real economy is weakening", meaning the Fed had to be careful not to keep rates elevated longer than required to contain inflation.
• Job openings rebounded in May after two months of sharp contraction. The number of openings increased by 221,000 to 8.14 million. Last night's report was the first in a run of employment indicators this week, culminating in Friday's non-farm payrolls report.
• Nine of eleven S&P sectors rose, led by consumer discretionary +1.81% and financials +1.1%. The materials sector was last of the gainers, edging up 0.16%. The two decliners were energy -0.2% and health -0.4%.
• Iron ore hit a four-week high in China following reports of improved property sales following recent government stimulus measures. Buyers were also reportedly anticipating more stimulus from this month's five-yearly government plenum held from July 15 to 18. Benchmark prices in China rose 1.2% to US$115.66 a metric ton.
• Copper advanced following signs of improved demand in South Korea and China. Benchmark copper at the London Metal Exchange firmed 0.52% to US$9,680 a metric ton.
• Oil backed off a two-month high after a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico eased sufficiently to soothe worries about its impact on crude production. Brent crude eased 36 US cents or 0.42% to US$86.24 a barrel. The Category 5 Hurricane Beryl is currently forecast to stay south of the major drilling zones.

Key events today:

• Retail sales - 11.30 am AEST
• Building approvals - 11.30 am
• China services PMI - 11.45 am
• US private payrolls - tonight
• US job openings - tonight
• Minutes from last month's Federal Reserve policy meeting - tonight

S&P 500: up 34 points or 0.62%

Dow: up 162 points or 0.41%

Nasdaq: up 149 points or 0.84%

Dollar: up 0.2% to 66.67 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 1.2% to US$115.66

Brent crude: down 36 US cents or 0.42% to US$86.24

Natural gas (US futures): down 0.54% to US$2.47

Gold: down US$5.50 or 0.24% to US$2,333.40

Silver: up 6 US cents or 0.21% to US$29.52

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.56%

Bitcoin: down 1.99% to US$61,894

Copper (LME): up 0.52% to US$9,680

Nickel (LME): down 2.41% to US$17,030

Uranium (spot price): steady at US$86.50

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.88% to US$12,453

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 0.05%

BHP: up 0.07% (US); down 0.87% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 0.6% (US); down 1.22% (UK)