Outlook for the day: Positive following strong gains on Wall Street and a rise in iron ore.
ASX futures: up 48 points or 0.68%
Overnight themes:
US stocks rally into a big week of corporate earnings as investors temporarily set aside geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The S&P 500 has its best session since August.
All 11 US sectors advance ahead of of trading updates this week from Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Netflix, Johnson & Johnson. Q3 earnings are expected to be 2.2% stronger than the prior corresponding period, according to LSEG data.
The season got off to a positive start on Friday with post-earnings rallies from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and UnitedHealth.
"At least for today, this is a market that sees a stronger earnings season, a stronger week in terms of earnings" - Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
The market shrugs off a rise in treasury yields and softer business conditions in the greater New York district. The US 10-year yield climbs nine basis points to 4.72%.
Investors keep a wary eye on Gaza, where Israel called on residents in the north to move south before an expected ground invasion.
The night's best-performing sectors are: consumer discretionary +1.66%, communication services +1.47%, utilities +1.05% and industrials +1.05%.
Fresh Chinese stimulus measures boost iron ore. Dalian ore prices rally almost 2.5% after China's central bank pumps liquidity into the banking system. Also encouraging buyers: ore inventories decline for a fifth week to the lowest in more than three years.
Oil eases ahead of an anticipated deal to ease US sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry. The White House and Venezuelan government are expected to announce a deal today.
Gold trims Friday's 3.1% surge, easing almost 0.4% as US treasury yields rise.
Key events today:
Minutes from this month's RBA meeting - 11.30 am AEDT
US retail sales, industrial production - tonight
S&P 500: up 46 points or 1.06%
Dow: up 314 points or 0.93%
Nasdaq: up 161 points or 1.2%
Dollar: up 0.53% to 63.45 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): up 2.86% to US$117.93
Brent crude: down 31 US cents or 0.3% to US$90.58
Gold: down US$7.20 or 0.37% to US$1,934.30
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.37%
Copper (LME): up 0.45% to US$7,984.50
Nickel (LME): down 0.03% to US$18,575
Lithium carbonate (China spot): up 1.47% to US$24,095
