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

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.


Outlook for the day: Mildly negative as declines in key commodities offset the Dow's longest winning run in a year and a flat finish for the S&P 500.

ASX futures: down 19 points or 0.24%


Overnight themes:

• The Dow outperforms in a mixed US market, logging a sixth straight advance and closing above 39,000 points for the first time in five weeks.
• Megacap tech stocks weigh as the Nasdaq eases 0.18% to a second straight loss and the S&P 500 finishes almost unchanged.
• Recoveries in treasury yields and the US dollar rob the stock market of some of its momentum during a night without major economic reports. The yield on 10-year US treasuries inches back above 4.5%.
• The Dow's run of six gains is its longest since a nine-session streak in December. More than two-thirds of component companies rise, led by Amgen, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase.
• Drags on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 include Uber (-5.72% after a Q1 loss), Intel (-2.22% on lower guidance) and Tesla (-1.74% amid allegations of misleading investors and consumers). Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon also declined.
• The major indices have stalled across the last two sessions as investors await fresh direction. Inflation reports next week look most likely to set the market tone as the Q1 earnings season winds down.
• "We're just waiting for the next catalyst to jump-start the direction in the market, and we're probably going to get that next week... I think traders are reluctant to take broader stocks or broader averages higher, until they get a fresh update on inflation" - Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise (per Reuters).
• Utilities and financials are the pick of the S&P sectors, gaining 1.05% and 0.4%, respectively. The night's biggest drags are real estate -0.9%, materials -0.44% and consumer discretionary -0.41%.
• A rebound in the US dollar pressures dollar-denominated commodity prices. Copper declines 1.33% on the London Metal Exchange as the US dollar index edges higher for a third session, repairing some of the damage after the Federal Reserve played down the risk of further rate hikes. Nickel gives up 0.81%, tin 1.6%, aluminium 0.78%, zinc 1.22% and lead 0.65%. The Bloomberg Commodity Index sheds 0.55%.
• BHP and Rio Tinto fall in overseas trade as iron ore drops 2.9% in China. A Shanghai-based analyst said port ore inventories were at a seasonal high. BHP loses 1.69% in the US and 0.96% in the UK. Rio Tinto gives up 1.46% in the US and 1.13% in the UK.

Key events today:

• US unemployment claims - tonight

S&P 500: down 0.03 points or 0.0%

Dow: up 172 points or 0.44%

Nasdaq: down 30 points or 0.18%

Dollar: down 0.15% to 65.78 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 2.91% to US$119.85

Brent crude: up 42 US cents or 0.5% to US$83.58

Gold: down US$1.90 or 0.08% to US$2,322.30

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.26%

Bitcoin: down 1.01% to US$61,535

Copper (LME): down 1.33% to US$9,896

Nickel (LME): down 0.81% to US$18,945

Uranium (spot price): up 1.35% to US$94.25

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.15% to US$15,491

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 1.17%

BHP: down 1.69% (US); down 0.96% (UK)

Rio Tinto: down 1.46% (US); down 1.13% (UK)