Morning traders. Thanks @ttward and lounge lizards.
Overnight round-up and day ahead:
Commodity gains and a decline in the dollar look set to propel the ASX higher for a fifth session following a mixed close on Wall Street.
Australian index futures rose 42 points or 0.6 per cent to 6714 as oil, iron ore and gold advanced. The dollar gave up half a cent, lately buying 68.18 US cents.
The busiest night of the US quarterly reporting season ended mixed as traders waded through reports from 45 companies in the S&P 500. The benchmark index edged up six points or 0.19 per cent as earnings wins for Microsoft, Tesla, PayPal and Dow outweighed misses from Twitter, Ebay, Ford and 3M. A 3.8 per cent decline in Post-It maker 3M dragged the Dow to a loss of 28 points or 0.11 per cent. The Nasdaq was easily the pick of the three major indices, rising 66 points or 0.81 per cent.
Short-sellers betting against Tesla against had a night to forget as Elon Musk's company reported an unexpected profit. Shares rallied 17.7 per cent as the report doused fears that the electric car-maker was putting growth before revenue. Rival Ford slid 6.1 per cent after cutting its full-year target.
Twitter shares were smashed down 21.2 per cent after the company blamed an advertising bug for a big revenue miss. PayPal jumped 8.7 per cent on better-than-expected payment volumes.
The flood of corporate reports largely overshadowed a round of downbeat economic news. Orders for durable goods declined 1.1 per cent last month, the biggest fall in four months. Sales of newly-built homes fell 0.7 per cent.
The Australian market has ground higher all week and looks likely to continue today as the weaker dollar boosts exporters. The ASX 200 yesterday rose 21 points or 0.3 per cent to its highest level in more than a week.
The nation's largest miners traded mixed in overseas action, rising in the UK before falling in the US. BHP's UK-listed stock added 0.33 per cent, while its US-listed stock eased 0.33 per cent. Rio Tinto put on 0.27 per cent in the US and lost 0.21 per cent in the UK. Iron ore inched higher yesterday. The spot price rose 10 cents or 0.1 per cent to $US87.05 a ton.
Oil has rebounded this week on declining US inventories and reports that OPEC and its allies are considering deeper production caps to support prices. Brent crude rose for a third night, settling 50 cents or 0.8 per cent higher at $US61.67 a barrel.
The gold market paid more attention than stock buyers to the weak US economic data. The precious metal used as a hedge against declines in the greenback, rose to its highest point in more than two weeks as traders speculated on further rate cuts. December gold settled $9 or 0.6 per cent higher at $US1,504.70 an ounce.
Copper hit its highest level in a month before easing back to break-even as production resumed at Codelco following a one-day strike. Nickel on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.6 per cent, tin 1.3 per cent and zinc 0.9 per cent. Aluminium shed 0.3 per cent. Lead closed flat.
The domestic AGM season is in full flow and provided many of the major moves on the exchange yesterday. Qantas is the biggest name to hold its annual meeting today, according to Morningstar. Others include GWA Group, Cleanaway Waste, Pharmaust, and Adairs. The US earnings season continued after the close of regular trade this morning with reports from heavyweights Intel and Amazon.
Breakfast
Here's one that some (not all) of you are going to enjoy: today is National Greasy Foods Day in America. (Who came up with that? Stupid question: the greasy foods industry). Disclaimer: Highlandlad accepts no responsibility for any heart troubles/weight gain that ensue from this breakfast.
