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

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Negative following a late swoon on Wall Street. Inflation data this morning will impact the RBA's thinking on interest rates.

ASX futures: down 19 points or 0.24%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks fall for a third night, surrendering initial gains in the final hour as mixed economic data provides little direction ahead of Friday's inflation report.
• The S&P 500 eases 0.28% to its third straight loss since a record close last Thursday. A slide in tech drags the Nasdaq down 0.42%. The Dow gives up 0.08% as declines in Boeing, 3M and Nike outweigh gains in UnitedHealth, Disney and JPMorgan Chase.
• Trading volumes are weak, with investors apparently reluctant to commit during a holiday-shortened week leading into the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE) on Good Friday. Economists expect the annual increase in core prices to hold steady at 2.8%.
• "The big number is Friday. That's the number everyone's going to pay attention to and whatever happens in the meantime is going to be noise, so I don't anticipate a whole lot happening until we get that data point." - Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities (per Reuters).
• Reports overnight show orders for durable goods increased more than expected last month, but consumers are increasingly worried by the upcoming presidential re-run between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Orders for durable goods increase by 1.4% last month, ahead of expectations for growth of 1.1%. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dips to 104.7 from 104.8 as politics replace recession fears as a major concern for Americans.
• Former president Trump's media company finishes with a gain of 16.1% upon debut after opening 41% higher and briefly trading almost 50% higher.
• Utilities, energy and tech are the night's biggest drags. Health, financials and consumer staples resist the late sell-off, gaining between 0.06% and 0.34%.
• Copper falls to a two-week low before arresting its decline. The metal price on the London Metal Exchange trades as low as US$8,810 a metric ton before partially recovering to US$8,863.50, a loss of 0.1%. Other base metals also drop as investors wait for inventory build-ups following the Lunar New Year holiday to dissipate.
• Iron ore gives back a lot of last week's strong gains after steel output dropped. Daily pig iron output was down 0.41% across March 11-20, compared to the prior 10-day period, according to the China Iron and Steel Association. Ore prices in China tumble 3.72% to US$112.85 a metric ton. Prices surged 6.1% last week amid tentative optimism about a recovery in demand.

Key events today:

• February inflation report (CPI) - 11.30 am AEDT
• Speech by US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller - tonight

S&P 500: down 15 points or 0.28%

Dow: down 31 points or 0.08%

Nasdaq: down 69 points or 0.42%

Dollar: down 0.09% to 65.32 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 3.72% to US$112.85

Brent crude: down 50 US cents or 0.6% to US$86.25

Gold: up 80 US cents or 0.1% to US$2,177.20

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: %

Bitcoin: down 2.17% to US$69,466

Copper (LME): down 0.11% to US$8,863.50

Nickel (LME): down 2.17% to US$16,655

Uranium (spot price): up 0.56% to US$91

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 1.3% to US$15,282

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: %

BHP: % (US); % (UK)

Rio Tinto: % (US); % (UK)