Day trading pre-market open November 6

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


Outlook for the day: Cautiously positive for a fifth session as Wall Street's best week of the year helps steel nerves ahead of a possible interest rate hike here on Melbourne Cup day.

ASX futures: up 14 points or 0.2%


Friday themes:

• A week-long rally in US stocks continues as soft employment data boosts hopes that the Federal Reserve can end the current rate-hiking cycle.
• Friday's gains seal the best week of 2023 for Wall Street's main stock indices. The S&P 500 rallies 0.94% for a weekly gain of 5.85%, its best performance since November 2022. The Dow adds 5.07% for the week. The Nasdaq's weekly tally is 6.61%.
• Stocks rise after non-farm payrolls increase by just 150,000 last month, down from 297,000 in September and below the 180,000 predicted by economists. The unemployment rate ticks up to 3.9%. A 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings is lower than expected.
• Treasury yields retreat for a fourth session as bond traders bet the jobs report eases pressure on the Fed to hike benchmark rates. The 10-year yield trades at its lowest in more than five weeks.
• Wall Street's "fear gauge", the VIX, falls to a six-week low.
• “From an equity market perspective, this reading takes some of the pressure off inflation and interest rate concerns, while still reflecting a robust labor market that is adding jobs faster than the neutral rate of approximately 100K” - Michelle Cluver, portfolio strategist at Global X.
• Apple is one of the few drags, falling 0.52% after missing sales forecasts. An improved profit forecast helps lift Afterpay owner Block 10.69%.
• The borrowing-dependent real estate sector outperforms, rising 2.35% to its highest since late September. Also notably strong: materials +1.55%, communication services +1.39% and financials +1.32%. Energy is the only laggard, shedding 1.01% as crude prices continue to lose altitude.
• Oil falls for a second week as demand worries outweigh fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude closes the week 4.8% lower than where it started following signs that the US economy may be slowing. Iron ore books a weekly advance of 3.7% following Chinese plans to boost property development and tackle local government debt. Steel and steel-making ingredients also rally.
• The Australian dollar regains 65 US cents for the first time since late September ahead of tomorrow's Reserve Bank interest rate decision.

Key events this week:

• October job ads - 11.30 am AEDT
• RBA rate decision, public holiday Victoria - tomorrow
• Speech by US Fed Chair Powell - Wednesday
• China inflation data - Thursday
• US Fed Chair Powell joins panel discussion - Thursday
• RBA Monetary Policy Statement - Friday
• US consumer sentiment - Friday

S&P 500: up 41 points or 0.94%

Dow: up 222 points or 0.66%

Nasdaq: up 184 points or 1.38%

Dollar: up 0.01% to 65.11 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 1.36% to US$127.57

Brent crude: down US$1.96 or 2.25% to US$84.89

Gold: up US$5.70 or 0.28% to US$1,999.20

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 4.31%

Copper (LME): up 0.4% to US$8,175.50

Nickel (LME): up 1.36% to US$18,223

Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.92% to US$22,494

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 2.62%

BHP: up 0.15% (US); down 0.83% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.05% (US); down 0.45% (UK)