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

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



Outlook for the day: The ASX will shoot for a fifth straight gain for the first time since June after Wall Street's main indices test three-week highs.

ASX futures: up 30 points or 0.42%


Overnight themes:

• US stocks rally as hopes for a rates pause outweigh fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
• Treasury yields retreat after a Federal Reserve official says he sees no need for further rate rises. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic told the American Bankers Association current settings were sufficiently restrictive to contain inflation.
• The yield on the US 10-year treasury logs its biggest single-day decline since May as trade resumed after a bond market holiday on Monday. (Treasuries attract haven inflows in times of geopolitical uncertainty. Yields move inversely to price.)
• The odds on a rates pause in November and December sit at 86% and 73%.
• Israeli planes continue to pound the Gaza Strip in revenge for weekend attacks by Hamas.
• "Everybody has one eye on the Middle East conflict and one eye on what's happening with bond yields. The decline in bond yields is the key driver today" - John Praveen, managing director at Paleo Leon.
• Ten of eleven US sectors advance. Utilities, consumer discretionary, materials and consumer staples all gain at least 1%.
• The energy sector finishes narrowly in the red as oil trims Monday's 4.2% surge following the weekend attack on Israel. Brent crude eases 0.6%. The reversal follows reports that the US is reevaluating sanctions on Venezuela.
• Iron ore falls towards six-week lows after China's largest developer, Country Garden, warned it might default on offshore debt. Coking coal and coke both shed more than 6%. Steel also declines.

Key events today:

• Speech by RBA Assistant Governor Chris Kent - 11.30 am AEDT
• US wholesale inflation, minutes from last Federal Reserve meeting - tonight

S&P 500: up 23 points or 0.52%

Dow: up 135 points or 0.4%

Nasdaq: up 79 points or 0.58%

Dollar: up 0.11% to 64.28 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): down 1.7% to US$112.40

Brent crude: down 50 US cents or 0.6% to US$87.65

Gold: up US$11 or 0.59% to US$1,875.30

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 1.18%

Copper (LME): down 0.93% to US$8,029

Nickel (LME): down 1.87% to US$18,620

Lithium carbonate (China spot): steady at US$23,543

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 3.13%

BHP: up 1.54% (US); up 1.9% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 1.99% (US); up 2.4% (UK)