Day trading pre-market open October 12

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


Outlook for the day: Cautiously positive following five days of gains and a late rally on Wall Street.

ASX futures: up 6 points or 0.08%


Overnight themes:

• Wall Street's main indices turn positive in late trade after the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting show officials are "highly uncertain" about the economic outlook and intend to "proceed carefully" on rates. Stocks swing from mid-session losses to a fourth straight gain.
• "A vast majority of participants continued to judge the future path of the economy as highly uncertain," the minutes of the September Fed meeting note.
• "Almost all" of the Reserve's 19 officials support holding rates steady at the meeting. However, a majority expect "one more increase".
• The main US indices sag in morning trade after headline wholesale inflation data comes in hotter than expected. Higher energy costs lift the September producer price index 0.5%, ahead of the 0.3% predicted by economists, but down from growth of 0.7% in August.
• This week's retreat in treasury yields continues after core PPI increases by 0.2%, in line with expectations. The US 10-year yield drops around eight basis points.
• Rate-sensitive sectors continue to outperform. Real estate gains 2.01%, utilities 1.63% and tech 1.01%. The energy sector, consumer staples and health decline.
• Oil retreats for a second night as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East recede. The retrace follows US reports that Iranian leaders were surprised by Hamas's weekend attack on Israel, contradicting an initial Wall Street Journal accusation that Iran helped plan the assault.

Key events today:

• September inflation expectations - 11 am AEDT
• US September consumer inflation - tonight

S&P 500: up 19 points or 0.43%

Dow: up 66 points or 0.19%

Nasdaq: up 97 points or 0.71%

Dollar: down 0.33% to 64.1 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 0.97% to US$113.96

Brent crude: down US$1.83 or 2.1% to US$85.82

Gold: up US$12 or 0.63 % to US$1,887.30

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 2.06%

Copper (LME): down 0.27% to US$8,001

Nickel (LME): down 0.73% to US$18,485

Lithium carbonate (China spot): steady at US$23,544

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: down 0.11%

BHP: up 0.58% (US); down 0.28% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.72% (US); down 0.16% (UK)