daytrades march 26 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: Australian stocks are set for flat open after early gains on Wall Street withered in late trade.

The June SPI futures contract closed 2 points down at 4901 this morning as a spike in the U.S. dollar took some of the shine off resource stocks overnight after doubts re-emerged over Europe's ability to deal with its debt problems.

Wall Street was initially cheered by upbeat earnings results, improving job numbers and confirmation from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that interest rates will remain low for some time to come. But an afternoon surge in the greenback saw the major stock indexes pull back before the closing bell.

The Dow was up 120 points at lunchtime but closed just 5 points or 0.05% higher. The S&P 500 surrendered a 14-point advance to close two points or 0.17% lower and the Nasdaq lost 0.06%. The BNY Mellon Australia Classic ADR Index, which tracks Australian companies listed on American stock indexes or sold over the counter in the U.S., closed 0.1% higher.

"We've got better-than-expected earnings from Qualcomm, Best Buy and Lululemon, plus it's pre-reporting season and nobody is coming out to confess that they missed the quarter, so we have a credible possibility of having a good first-quarter earnings season," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co told MarketWatch.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee that the U.S. economy is so fragile that low interest rates will be needed for an extended period. The timing of interest-rate increases and the unwinding of special lending programs will depend on economic conditions and financial developments.

There were signs of a slow recovery in the job market, with the number of people applying for unemployment benefits falling for the third time in four weeks. However, the unemployment rate stands at 9.7%, close to a 27-year low.

The U.S. dollar turned higher against the euro after the European Central Bank President warned that relying on the International Monetary Fund to solve Europe's debt problems would be "very, very bad". The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, charged 0.43% to a new multi-month high.

A U.S. market commentator told MarketWatch that bringing in the IMF "sends a strong message to the market that members of the euro-zone are unable to keep their own house in order... Questions start to be asked about the credibility of the euro."

Crude oil had recovered some of this week's losses in morning trade but the dollar's surge saw the price of futures tumble from near $81.50 a barrel to recently trade at $80.31, a session loss of 30 cents or 0.37%.

Gold edged higher in choppy trade. The spot price was recently $1,091.50 an ounce, up $4 on Wednesday's New York close.

Industrial metals were mostly stronger after yesterday's sharp fall. Copper stocks at London Metal Exchange warehouses have fallen throughout this month and nickel continues to benefit from a strike in Canada and a pick-up in demand for stainless steel. In London, copper rose 0.8%, lead 2%, nickel 1.8%, and zinc 1.2%. Aluminium shed 0.5% and tin 1%.

The major European markets pushed to fresh annual highs as investors bet that a European summit will hammer out a solution to Greece's debt woes. Britain's FTSE climbed 0.88%, Germany's DAX 1.56% and France's CAC 1.28%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

ECONOMIC NEWS: RBA Governor Glenn Stevens is due to speak at the ACI World Congress at 9.15 am. The Conference Board's Leading Index of local economic indicators is released at 10 am. The U.S. winds down with GDP figures, and revised consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Good luck to all.