Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.
Outlook for the day: Modestly positive as gains for US stocks, gold, oil and lithium and partly offset by sliding iron ore prices.
ASX futures: up 11 points or 0.14%
Friday/weekend themes:
- Two of Wall Street's three main benchmarks closed at all-time highs as soft economic data encouraged hopes that rate cuts might come sooner than expected, and enthusiasm for the outlook for artificial intelligence boosted tech stocks.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at records as AI poster child Nvidia led a rally in chip-makers. Nvidia climbed 4%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index put on 4.29% as AMD joined Nvidia at a new high.
- Treasury yields declined after a measure of business conditions among US manufacturers fell to a two-month low. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index dropped to 47.8% from 49.1% in January. The ISM index has been in contractionary territory for 16 months, the worst run since the GFC.
- Gold rallied 2% to a record close as treasury yields fell on the prospect that rate cuts may come sooner than bond traders previously expected. Gold for April delivery settled at US$2,095.70 an ounce, topping the previous closing high for the most-active contract (US$2,093.10, according to Dow Jones Market Data). Still, Friday's intraday peak of US$2,096.40 fell some way short of the intraday record high of US$2,152.30 recorded last December.
- Tech was the pick of the sectors, rising 1.78%. Also strong were energy +1.17% (oil surge - more below) and real estate +1.08% (rate-sensitive). Utilities sat out the rally, falling 0.72%. Also soft were financials -0.22% and consumer staples -0.04%.
- For the week, the S&P 500 put on 0.95%. The Nasdaq advanced 1.74%. The Dow dipped 0.11%.
- Iron ore logged a second straight weekly decline after China's official measure of manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth month. China-traded ore dropped 1.75% on Friday, extending its loss for the week to 3.6%.
- Oil gained 2% in anticipation that OPEC+ would extend voluntary production cuts due to expire at the end of this month. The oil cartel then agreed over the weekend to extend the cuts until the end of June.
- Highlights on the economic calendar for the week ahead include Australian GDP data (Wednesday), several gauges of US employment activity and a congressional appearance by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Key events this week:
- February job ads - 11.30 am AEDT today
- January building approvals - 11.30 am today
- Q3 company operating profits - 11.30 am today
- US services PMI - Tuesday
- Q2 GDP - Wednesday
- US private payrolls, job openings - Wednesday
- Testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Powell before the House - Wednesday, Thursday
- US February employment report - Friday
S&P 500: up 41 points or 0.8%
Dow: up 91 points or 0.23%
Nasdaq: up 183 points or 1.14%
Dollar: down 0.1% to 65.27 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): down 1.75% to US$121.09
Brent crude: up US$1.64 or 2% to US$83.55
Gold: up US$41 or 2% to US$2,095.70
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 3.3%
Bitcoin: up 1.27% to US$62,731
Copper (LME): up 0.22% to US$8,522
Nickel (LME): down 1.31% to US$17,662
Uranium (spot price): steady at US$95.50
Lithium carbonate (China spot): up 3.08% to US$14,237
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 2.39% (7-week high)
BHP: up 1.74% (US); up 1.48% (UK)
Rio Tinto: up 0.95% (US); uo 0.95% (UK)
Day trading pre-market open March 4
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