daytrades jan 19 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: Strength in resource stocks and renewed optimism about Europe overshadowed some disappointing profit results in the U.S., suggesting Australian stocks will open modestly higher this morning.

The March SPI futures contract ended the night session 17 points or 0.36% stronger at 4796 after our miners gained in overseas trade as a sliding U.S. dollar drew investors into metals.

U.S. stocks extended a seven-week rally despite earnings disappointments from Citigroup and Delta Airlines and concerns over Apple as CEO Steve Jobs takes a medical leave of absence. The Dow led the major indexes, rising 51 points or 0.43% as Boeing rallied on news about its new 787 jet. The Nasdaq added 0.38% and the benchmark S&P 500 trailled at +0.14%.

"Investors seem to be absorbing the news out of Citigroup and Apple," the chief market strategist for at Prudential Financial in the U.S. told Bloomberg. "Economic figures are strong. Earnings, including Apple's report, are expected to be good. In Europe, finance leaders put a sort of firewall to contain the spread of the debt crisis. We don't know how long it's going to last, but it seems to be working. The markets are responding accordingly."

European markets rallied after euro-zone finance ministers moved towards creating a larger bail-out fund for debt-laden member countries. Spain's IBEX 35 index surged 3%, Portugal's PSI 20 index 1.4%, Britain's FTSE 1.2%, Germany's DAX 0.9% and France's CAC 0.9%.

A rebound in the euro pressured the U.S. dollar and helped boost commodity prices as traders sought alternative investments. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was recently down 0.42%. The Australian dollar was once again rising towards parity, recently buying 99.79 U.S. cents.

Copper neared its January 3 record high, rising 0.5% in London. Aluminium rallied 0.7%, nickel 1% and tin 0.5%. Lead fell 0.6% as supplies hit a 15-year high and zinc eased 0.6%.

A rally in gold tapered towards the end of the session but still delivered a bounce. Gold for February delivery was recently up $6.30 or 0.5% at $1,367 an ounce. Silver and palladium also advanced.

Oil gave back a little of last week's 4% rise, easing 31 cents or 0.3% to $91.24 a barrel.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

METALS BOOST SENTIMENT: Our futures say the ASX 200 should this morning finally break clear of the 4800 barrier which has proved a stubborn ceiling over the last few months. The overnight rise in copper and yesterday's upbeat reports from Rio Tinto and Fortescue should push the resources sector along this morning. Precious metals edged higher overnight, but sentiment has turned more bearish in the last week, so caution may be wise. Oil took a breather after last week's swift ascent.

IBM AND APPLE REPORT: Two of the big guns were due to report fourth-quarter earnings after U.S. markets closed this morning. Any strong market reaction will have a bearing on how our market performs today. You can track U.S. futures here and read about the response to the reports when they come through here. IBM shares rose 3.4% in the minutes after it released its result.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Local December consumer sentiment numbers are due at 10.30 am. Housing tops the agenda tonight in the U.S. - building permits and housing starts.

Good luck to all.