daytrading feb 14 pre-market

Morning traders. Many thanks to jpsorbara, TwinTurbo and Trees for standing in here yesterday. Good work all.

Market wrap:

Stocks likely face a mildly negative open as Rio Tinto's $3 billion loss and soft global economic data compound a mixed night on Wall Street.

The March SPI 200 futures contract ended the night session seven points or 0.1% weaker at 4987 following two days of strong gains that pushed the XJO to its highest level in four and a half years.

US stocks trimmed sharp early losses after weak European and Japanese growth figures pulled European markets lower. The S&P 500 turned an opening six-point deficit into a gain of one point or 0.04% as weekly jobless claims tumbled and a wave of corporate deals supported current valuations. The Dow eased 10 points or 0.07% and the Nasdaq added 0.07%.

"We need to digest some of our gains to go higher, but people are so eager to buy on the dips that we're not even seeing dips anymore," the chief market strategist at National Securities in the US told Reuters. "People are just chasing the market higher."

US stocks opened underwater after the euro-zone recorded its worst quarter of economic contraction since the GFC. Gross domestic product shrank 0.6% from the previous quarter, dashing hopes that the European economy was bottoming. The news compounded concerns about global growth after Japan yesterday announced that its economy shrank 0.1% in the fourth quarter. Germany's DAX share index slumped 1.05% overnight, France's CAC 0.77% and Britain's FTSE 0.5%.

Sentiment in the US improved following an unexpectedly large drop in first-time claims for jobless benefits. Claims last week dropped 27,000 to 341,000, renewing hopes that the jobs market is on the mend.

Also helping sentiment was a fresh round of corporate wheeling and dealing. Berkshire Hathaway announced a friendly take-over for Heinz. Two American airlines agreed to merge. Drinks giants Constellation Brands and Anheuser-Busch InBev struck a deal to break up Mexican rival Grupo Modelo.

The overseas reaction to Rio Tinto's first net loss, announced after the close of Australian trade last night, appeared to be mild disappointment. Shares traded in the UK fell 0.31% and in the US 0.38%. BHP rallied 2.11% in the US and 1.46% in the UK.

A strong US dollar helped push gold to a six-month low as the week-long Lunar New Year holiday continued to keep Chinese buyers away from commodity markets. Gold for delivery in April was lately down $10.60 or 0.6% at US$1,634.50 an ounce.

Aluminium was the pick during another tepid session on the London Metal Exchange, rising 0.6% to a six-week high. Copper added 0.2%. Lead edged higher, while zinc, tin and nickel fell back. US copper for March delivery was recently flat at US$3.74 a pound.

Oil found support in signs of improvement in the US jobs market. West Texas crude for March delivery was lately up 37 cents or 0.4% at US$97.37 a barrel.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

DIGESTING ANOTHER STRONG WEEK: Barring shocks, we can look forward to wrapping up a 12th winning week from 13 since mid-November. What an extraordinary run. Today, however, may bring mild weakness as traders lock in gains from two days of strong gains. Rio Tinto will likely be the biggest weight - it attracted strong buying here yesterday but overseas traders didn't share the love after the mining giant last night unveiled its first net loss. There is also another huge swag of corporate earnings reports to parse, including ANZ and BBG. See below for more detail. Goldies may come under further pressure after the metal slumped to a six-month low overnight.

COMPANIES REPORTING: Among those reporting today: ANZ, BBG, BSA, CDP, COO, CQR, CXX, DUE, EGG, GBG, GGX, HFA, LEP, LSA, MCR, MMR, NBL, NTU, OKL, PBG, PRU, PXS, SGM, SPI and TRS. (Sources: Fairfax, BRR)

ECONOMIC NEWS: No significant domestic news scheduled today. China remains closed for a public holiday. The G-20 meet in Moscow tonight. Europe releases trade and retail sales data. Highlights in the US are preliminary consumer sentiment and inflation expectations, industrial production, long-term purchases, mortgage delinquencies, Empire State manufacturing index and capacity utilisation rate.

Good luck to all.