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

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


Outlook for the day: Australian shares look set to rebound from their biggest fall since April. Futures trade points to the first positive start in five sessions following tech-led gains on Wall Street.

ASX futures: up 31 points or 0.36%


Overnight themes: ​

• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rallied as a positive court ruling soothed antitrust worries in the tech sector, offsetting broader market weakness after employment data missed expectations.​
• The S&P 500 put on 0.51% despite losses among seven of its eleven sectors. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.02%. The Dow closed just 25 points or 0.05% lower after a final-hour comeback trimmed a sharper initial fall. ​
• Google's parent company Alphabet and Apple accounted for much of the night's strength after a federal judge handed down his findings in an antitrust case. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google can keep its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system, but must share its search data and cannot strike exclusive search deals. Alphabet shares surged 9.14% because the decision avoided the worst-case scenario of a break-up for the company. Apple, which can continue to reap millions from preloading Google Search on its iPhones, jumped 3.81%.​
• "Google and Apple got a lifeline... They won the sweepstakes," Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management, told Reuters. ​
• The wider market struggled after job openings slumped in July to the lowest in 10 months, underscoring weakness in the labour market. The US dollar index declined 0.26% as the odds on a rate cut this month climbed to 98% from 92%, as measured by the CME Group's FedWatch tool. ​
• The narrowness of last night's rally was highlighted by the fact just three sectors posted gains of more than 0.1%: communication services +3.76%, tech +0.92% and consumer discretionary +0.43%. Consumer staples edged up 0.02%. The rest of the market saw red, with falls ranging from 0.16% for financials down to 2.3% for energy. ​
• Gold drove deeper into uncharted territory as weak US employment data bolstered the case for interest rate cuts, sending the greenback lower. Spot gold was lately up US$25.52 or 0.72% to US$3,560.30 an ounce after trading as high as US$3,578.50. US gold futures settled US$43.30 or 1.2% ahead at US$3,635.50. "Gold's rally has room to run, with short-to-medium-term targets around $3,600 to $3,800, and the breakout pattern suggesting $4,000 could be within reach by late first quarter next year," Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals, told Reuters. ​
• Iron ore rose for a second day after Goldman Sachs hiked its price forecast for next quarter. The US firm has been bearish on the prospects for ore in expectation that US tariffs will undermine demand and depress prices in the second half of the year. Overnight, the firm's analysts raised their Q4 average price forecast to US$95 a metric ton from a previous prediction of US$90. However, Goldman made no change to its forecast of US$80 per ton by the end of next year. Meanwhile, benchmark ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed 0.71% yesterday to US$108.63. Singapore's ore benchmark firmed 0.39% to US$102.85.​
• Crude oil backed off its highest level in a month following reports the OPEC+ cartel will discuss adding more supply at this weekend's meeting. Reports emerged in the last 24 hours that the group will consider increasing output, denting market expectations that the meeting would produce no change. Brent crude settled US$1.54 or 2.23% lower at US$67.60 a barrel after trading as high as US$69.10.​
• Copper traded little changed near a five-month high as hopes for a US rate cut this month helped offset news that Chinese copper imports hit a one-year low in July. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange eased less than 0.1% to US$9,974 per metric ton. Prices pushed above US$10,000 on Tuesday after a private survey showed Chinese factory activity expanded last month at the fastest pace in five months. ​

Key events today: ​

• Trade balance - 11.30 am AEST​
• US private payrolls - tonight ​
• US unemployment claims - tonight​
• US services PMI - tonight ​

S&P 500: up 33 points or 0.51%

Dow: down 25 points or 0.05%

Nasdaq: up 218 points or 1.02%

VIX: down 4.78% to 16.35

US 10-year treasury yield: down 41 points to 4.222%

Dollar: up 0.38% to 65.43 US cents

Iron ore (Dalian): up 0.71% to US$108.63

Brent crude: down US$1.54 or 2.23% to US$67.60

Gold (futures): up US$43.30 or 1.2% to US$3,635.50

Gold (spot): up US$25.52 or 0.72% to US$3,560.30

Silver (spot): up 27 US cents or 0.66% to US$41.18

Palladium (spot): up US$17.50 or 1.53% to US$1,159

Antimony (China ore): steady at US$19,540

NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.53%

Bitcoin: up 0.74% to US$112,233

Copper (LME): down 0.07% to US$9,974

Nickel (LME): up 0.36% to US$15,295

Lithium carbonate (China spot battery grade): down 2.06% to US$9,386

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 0.21%

Uranium (spot): up 0.29% to US$76.25

Global X Uranium ETF (URA): up 1.77%

BHP: up 0.4% (US); up 0.63% (UK)

Rio Tinto: up 0.95% (US); up 0.7% (UK) ​