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

Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome and @Patterns.


Outlook for the day: Positive for a third day after the Federal Reserve leaves official rates on hold and noted the strength of the US economy.

ASX futures: up 52 points or 0.76%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks add to early gains as bond traders bet that the Fed is done with rate hikes after leaving benchmark rates unchanged. Treasury yields retreat sharply despite Chair Powell refusing to rule out further hikes.
• The Fed leaves the target federal funds rate in a range of 5.25 - 5.5%, as widely expected.
• "Economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter," the central bank says after a two-day meeting.
• The yield on 10-year US treasuries dives 17 basis points to 4.764%. The 10-year yield traded above 5% last week. Movement in shorter-term yields implies bond traders expect the central bank to start cutting rates as soon as June next year.
• "The fact that they left rates unchanged for the second time in a row suggests the Fed might leave rates unchanged in December. And if they do, that means the Fed is done" - Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
• Rate-sensitive growth stocks lead the rally. The tech sector jumps 2.08%. Utilities gain 1.1%. Two sectors sit out the rally: energy -0.33% and consumer staples -0.06%.
• Caterpillar, Microsoft and Intel are the Dow's best performers, gaining at least 2.1%. Apple gains 1.87%.
• Earlier in the session, the Treasury appears to soothe worries about the size of future bond sales to manage the government's increasing debt burden. Yields retreat after details of next week's bond sales were largely in line with expectations. Traders had been questioning whether there was enough demand to soak up the Treasury's growing needs for funding.
• Iron ore rises to a seven-month high after China announces plans to tackle local government debt and develop policies to assist the housing market. "Lowering local debt is, to some extent, injecting liquidity into the downstream market, buoying sentiment and supporting demand for industrial metals" - Pei Hao, analyst at FIS.
• Oil falls for a third session after the Fed leaves the door open to further rate rises.

Key events today:

• September trade figures - 11.30 am AEDT

S&P 500: up 44 points or 1.05%

Dow: up 222 points or 0.67%

Nasdaq: up 210 points or 1.64%

Dollar: up 0.85% to 63.9 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 2.51% to US$125.63

Brent crude: down 39 US cents or 0.45% to US$84.63

Gold: down US$6.80 or 0.34% to US$1,987.50

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.53%

Copper (LME): down 0.03% to US$8,108

Nickel (LME): down 0.88% to US$17,935

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.61% to US$22,848

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 0.92%

BHP: up 1.54% (US); up 1.01% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 1.18% (US); up 0.13 % (UK)