Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome, @Patterns and @FlashPoint.
Outlook for the day: Tentatively positive after Wall Street ends mixed. However the tone of US debt ceiling negotiations this morning (Monday night US time) may affect trade.
ASX futures: up five points or 0.07%
Overnight themes:
- US stocks close mixed ahead of the resumption of debt limit negotiations between the White House and Republican congressional leaders.
- Gains in Meta (Facebook) and Alphabet (Google) power the Nasdaq to a nine-month high. The Dow retreats as more than two-thirds of component companies decline. The S&P 500 ends little changed.
- "As debt ceiling drama intensifies, mega-cap tech stocks have become Wall Street's new favorite defensive trade" - Ed Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
- President Biden and Republican House Speaker McCarthy scheduled to meet this morning to resume face-to-face negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. Divisions remain over spending and tax hikes ahead of a June 1 deadline for a possible default.
- Regional bank stocks rally after PacWest Bancorp sells a portfolio of property construction loans.
- Communication services, real estate and financials are the pick of the sectors. Consumer staples, materials and energy drag.
Key events today:
- Flash May manufacturing and services PMIs - 9 am AEST
- US/EU manufacturing and services PMIs - tonight
S&P 500: up less than a point or 0.02%
Dow: down 140 points or 0.42%
Nasdaq: up 63 points or 0.5%
Dollar: down 0.1% to 66.5 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): down 2.7% to US$103.59
Brent crude: up 41 US cents or 0.54% to US$75.99
Gold: down US$4.40 or 0.2% to US$1,977.20
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.25%
Copper (LME): down 1.32% to US$8,142.50
Nickel (LME): down 0.88% to US$21,280
Globa lX Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 1.32% (5-week high)
BHP: up 0.15% (US); down 0.02% (UK)
Rio Tinto: down 0.5% (US); down 0.24% (UK)
