daytrades april 30 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: A recovery in Europe and Wall Street's best session in nearly two months have set up a strong open for local stocks this morning.

With 10 minutes left to trade, the local June SPI futures contract was ahead 40 points or 0.8% at 4844.

Worries about euro-zone debt eased overnight on reports that European leaders were fast-tracking aid for Greece. The news helped European markets recover from six-week lows.

Wall Street had its strongest night since early March as investors' focus reverted to the improving domestic picture. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 122 points or 1.1%, the S&P 500 gained 1.29% and the Nasdaq 1.63% as investors were cheered by healthy earnings reports and improving regional manufacturing data.

"Earnings season has been spectacular," a senior money manager told Bloomberg. "The recovery has been stronger than most have expected."

Income for the first quarter of this year is beating estimates at close to the fastest rate ever, according to Bloomberg. More than 78% of companies that have reported have beaten projections.

"One of the key things we're seeing is that a lot of companies are lifting their guidance, which shows you that their confidence about the economy is up," an executive vice president told MarketWatch. "It's hard to start selling here, based on what we're seeing about the fundamentals in the U.S."

Regional manufacturing expanded at a "solid pace" last month and national jobless claims fell last week but were roughly in line with expectations.

Financial stocks rallied for a second day after Republicans agreed to debate bank-reform legislation aimed at plugging holes in the regulatory system that some blame for the global financial crisis. The S&P Bank Index climbed 2.3%. Other sectors to record strong gains were REITs +4.5%, biotechs +2.9% and industrials +1.9%.

The euro rallied on hopes that a rescue deal for Greece will be locked in quickly, crimping the U.S. dollar overnight and easing pressure on commodity prices. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was recently down 0.4%.

Oil bounced back from several days of selling. Crude futures rallied $2.25 or 2.7% to $85.47 a barrel, near its highest level in a week.

Gold was little changed for a second day. The spot price was recently $2 stronger than Wednesday's New York close at $1,167 an ounce.

Industrial metals were mixed on sovereign debt fears and worries over flagging Chinese demand. "Continued concerns about China tightening its belt, trying to contain growth are probably keeping people away from the market right
now," a U.S. hedge fund analyst told Reuters. "China tightening is definitely going to hold back some copper usage for a while."

New York copper hit its lowest level in one-and-a-half months, down another 0.8% overnight. In London, copper slid 0.1%, lead 1.1%, nickel 0.8% and zinc 3%. Aluminium rallied 0.9% and tin 1.2%.

The major European markets clawed back some of this week's heavy losses. Britain's FTSE added 0.56%, Germany's DAX 1% and France's CAC 1.42%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

BOUNCE: Nothing much changed in the gloomy European sovereign debt situation overnight but markets were oversold and ready to bounce. We should see a very healthy start to local trade, but watch out for the traditional Friday afternoon fade as traders close positions ahead of the weekend. In many cases, the opening prices will be the best of the day.

OIL: Crude had a bullish kick overnight to a one-week high and has continued north since the close of U.S. floor trade. The price has been remarkably strong throughout the recent market turbulence compared to industrial metals. The medium-term chart holds the promise of further highs. Bill O'Neill, a principal at Logic Advisors quoted on MarketWatch said oil was basking in a "resilient trading pattern" and "The money flow just continues to favour this market".

ECONOMIC NEWS: The RBA announces monthly private sector credit data at 11.30 am. Monthly new home sales are also due this morning. Tonight in the U.S.: GDP, regional manufacturing and revised consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Good luck to all.