daytrading march 14 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap:

Shares likely face a subdued start after declines in commodity prices overshadowed the Dow's longest winning run in 16 years.

The March SPI 200 futures contract ended the night session two points or less than 0.1% weaker at 5097 as the big Australian miners were dragged lower in US trade by a fall in the price of iron ore yesterday.

The Dow staged a final-hour rally to narrowly secure its first nine-session rally since 1996 with a gain of five points or 0.03%. The winning streak has included seven all-time record highs for the blue-chip index. The broader S&P 500 inched to a gain of 0.16% and the Nasdaq added 0.08%.

The market was supported by the biggest increase in retail sales in five months. Sales increased by 1.1% in February, ahead of economists' consensus target of around 0.7%. The report soothed concerns over the impact of "fiscal cliff" payroll tax rises and the psychological effect of the latest stand-off in Washington over spending cuts.

"The numbers were very good," the managing director of investment strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank told MarketWatch. "The consumer is showing incredible resilience, having absorbed the dysfunction in Washington and the payroll-tax increase."

Records continued to tumble overnight in several US indexes associated with risk appetite. The Russell 2000 index of small caps advanced 0.39% to an all-time high. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rallied 1.63% to a new peak. Last night's gains brought the S&P 500 to within 10 points of its all-time high of 1,565.15 recorded in October 2007.

The records came despite falls in Asia yesterday and a mixed session in Europe as euro-zone industrial output data disappointed and Italy's borrowing costs rose at the first bond auction since Fitch cut the government's credit rating. Germany's DAX edged up 0.06% but France's CAC fell 0.1%, Britain's FTSE 0.44% and Italy's FTSE MIB 1.74%.

BHP and Rio Tinto retreated in US trade after the price of iron ore yesterday slumped to its lowest level since late December. Read more here. Rio dipped 2.22% overnight and BHP lost 0.79%.

Copper fell back as the US dollar surged following a strong retail sales report, pressuring dollar-denominated commodities. Also weighing on sentiment was a decline yesterday in Chinese shares exposed to real estate amid reports of a government clampdown on the housing market. Read more here. US copper for May delivery was recently down three cents or 0.7% at US$3.53 a pound. In London, copper dropped 0.6%, aluminium 0.7%, nickel 0.2% and zinc 0.3%. Tin rallied 0.8% and lead gained less than 0.1%.

Oil retreated for the first time in five sessions as the greenback's seven-month high against the euro quashed demand for alternative stores of wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was lately down eight cents or 0.1% at US$92.47 a barrel.

Gold also fell back following another failed assault on the US$1,6000 an ounce level. Gold for April delivery was recently $4.90 or 0.3% weaker at US$1,586.80 an ounce after running as high as US$1,598.80.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

COMMODITY PRICES LIKELY TO WEIGH: The market will likely have to overcome further weakness today in the big miners if it is to regain any of the ground lost during this week's two-session retreat. The mood among iron ore traders and steel producers seems increasingly bearish, undermining two of the main pillars of the ASX in BHP and Rio. What was good news for US stocks overnight - solid February retail sales - was bad for commodities because traders interpreted the data as a sign of an improving economy and bought the US dollar. Today's main domestic economic news is the monthly employment report at 11.30am EST. Expectations are low: the jobless rate is expected to tick higher to 5.5% from 5.4% with the economy creating roughly 9,500 jobs. Any significant variation from those figures could push the market one way or the other.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The inflation expectations report is due at 11am EST, but today's main domestic interest lies in the 11.30am release of February jobs figures, including the revised unemployment rate. The European Union holds an economic summit tonight. Highlights in the US include the weekly benefits claims report, producer price index/core PPI, current account and bank stress test results.

Good luck to all.