Morning traders.Market wrap: Australian stocks face a cautious...

Morning traders.

Market wrap:

Australian stocks face a cautious start after pre-empting overnight gains in Europe and the US as Greek euro-exit fears eased and US housing data improved.

The June SPI 200 futures contract ended the night session four points or 0.1% stronger at 4107, with futures traders maintaining this week's bullish outlook on the ASX despite overnight declines on commodity markets.

US stocks staged a solid rally as trade resumed following Monday's Memorial Day public holiday. The S&P 500 survived a mid-session wobble to finish near its highest point for the day, up 1.11%. The Dow followed a similar path to a gain of 126 points or 1.01% and the Nasdaq added 1.18% despite a 9.6% slide in Facebook to a new low.

"The market has put in a technical bottom," the chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in the US told MarketWatch. "We will probably see a slightly better tone to the market this week, but the bias will remain defensive."

US investors focussed on the positives during a night of mixed news. Domestic economic data delivered a muddled picture of the economy: consumer confidence slumped to its lowest level this month since January, house prices were unchanged in April after five months of declines and a measure of manufacturing in the mid-west improved 2.4%.

European news was similarly mixed. The major markets advanced with Wall Street on optimism about fresh stimulus measures in China and opinion poll evidence that Greek voters may be turning away from anti-austerity, anti-bailout parties. Germany's DAX rallied 1.16%, France's CAC 1.37% and Britain's FTSE 0.65%. But Spain's IBEX 35 slumped 2.34% as retail sales dropped for a 22nd month and shares in part-nationalised Bankia tanked another 16.25%.

"The real worry... is the actual need for capital in Spanish banks," the chief economist at FIH Erhvervsbank told MarketWatch. "Bankia needs €19 billion, but there are a lot of banks in Spain and the clarity as to what they need in terms of capital in order to stay solvent is currently not present. The problem... is simply that the Spanish government cannot afford to recapitalise the Spanish banks and so far the European Central Bank has not stepped in with a solution."

US stocks pared gains mid-session as the euro fell to a two-year low after Spain's credit rating was downgraded. The declining euro boosted the US dollar, which in turn pressured commodity markets.

Most industrial metals lost ground in European trade as optimism over China was offset by caution over Spain. In London, copper fell 0.4%, aluminium 0.35% and nickel 2.1%. Zinc was unchanged. Lead added 0.2% and tin put on 1.2%. US copper for July delivery was recently up four cents or 1.3% at US$3.47 a pound.

Gold, an alternative store of wealth that is particularly sensitive to changes in the greenback, gave up most of its advance over the last two sessions. Gold for August delivery was lately down $14.80 or 0.9% at US$1,556.40 an ounce.

Oil was virtually unchanged after three sessions of gains. West Texas crude for July delivery was recently up two cents or less than 0.1% at US$90.88 a barrel.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

RALLY PUT TO THE TEST: An interesting day lies ahead after two bullish sessions to launch the week. Can the bulls claim a third straight win for the first time this month or will we repeat last week's pattern - two wins, then a fade to a new 2012 low? Certainly the omens are more positive this week, with two very solid sessions here and then Wall Street and Europe kicking higher overnight despite plenty of reasons to be cautious. Greece increasingly looks like a sideshow as Spain - a far larger and more important economy - lurches from one crisis to another. Nonetheless, US banks and resource stocks were well-supported overnight. There is news breaking as I wrap this up that the ECB has rejected Spain's recapitalisation plan for Bankia - whether that has broader implications for world markets remains to be seen.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Retail sales and construction work figures are due at 11.30am EST. Europe has plenty going on tonight, including retail sales data, a 10-year bond auction in Italy and a speech by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. Pending home sales are the main interest in the US.

Good luck to all.