Day trading pre-market open March 12

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Cautiously positive as US stocks finish mixed and the ASX 200 looks to rebound from its worst session in more than a year.

ASX futures: up 5 points or 0.06%


Overnight themes:

• Wall Street's main indices end mixed ahead of inflation data tonight that will throw light on the likely timing of interest rate cuts this year.
• The Dow edges to a gain of 0.1% as selling pressure on high-flying tech stocks steers investors towards traditional havens, including blue-chips. Gains in UnitedHealth, Intel and Nike help offset a 3.02% slide in Boeing following news of a criminal investigation into a cabin blowout in January.
• The S&P 500 declines for a second session as a rally in AI chip-makers stutters. Nvidia drops 2%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index retreats 1.36% from last week's record close. Other drags on the Nasdaq include Meta, AMD and Amazon.
• Tonight's February Consumer Price Index is expected to show a monthly increase of 0.4% and an annual rise of 3.1%. Investors have grown cautious in recent months amid speculation that inflation could reignite as attacks on Red Sea shipping add to supply-chain costs.
• "There's certainly a camp out there saying we're going to have renewed inflation - or there's a good possibility of that - and then there's certainly a camp that says we're going to have deflation, and that will allow the Fed to lower rates. It's always tricky" - Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder (per Reuters).
• Strong economic data in recent months have prompted analysts to push back the likely start of the rate-cutting cycle. The US Federal Reserve meets next week, but its not expected to change monetary policy settings.
• Resource stocks outperform in the US. The materials sector gains 1.13%. Energy puts on 1%. Also positive are consumer staples, utilities and financials. The night's biggest drags are industrials (Boeing) -0.53%, real estate -0.49% and consumer discretionary -0.49%.
• Iron ore tumbles to a four-month low as reports of a supply glut in China undermine prices. Data last week showed inventories at major ports increasing at the same time as hot-metal production was declining. China-traded ore skids 5.41% to its lowest since October 23.
• Oil and base metals shrug off weakness during yesterday's ASX trading session, turning higher overnight in UK trade. Brent crude edges up 0.16%. Copper, nickel and other industrial metals rally on the London Metal Exchange. Stainless steel prices climb to the highest since November as a recovery in the price of nickel continues.
• Battery metal miners rally in the US. The Global X Lithium & Battery ETF jumps 4.02% to its highest in a week.

Key events today:

• Business confidence - 11.30 am AEDT
• US inflation (CPI) - tonight

S&P 500: down 6 points or 0.1%

Dow: up 47 points or 0.1%

Nasdaq: down 66 points or 0.41%

Dollar: down 0.18% to 66.13 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 5.41% to US$115.68

Brent crude: up 13 US cents or 0.16% to US$82.21

Gold: up US$3.10 or 0.1% to US$2,188.60

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 2.51%

Bitcoin: up 3.98% to US$72,297

Copper (LME): up 0.87% to US$8,654

Nickel (LME): up 1.58% to US$18,275

Uranium (spot price): steady at US$92.50

Lithium carbonate (China spot): up 0.4% to US$15,186

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 4.37%

BHP: down 2.04% (US); down 1.92% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 1.1% (US); down 1.23% (UK)