Morning traders. Thanks loungers, especially @Ravgnome.
Outlook for the day: Positive following gains on Wall Street.
ASX futures: up 35 points or 0.46%
Overnight themes:
US stocks booked solid gains as treasury yields retreated after the Federal Reserve appeared to rule out further interest rate hikes.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.91% to its first gain in three sessions. The rate-sensitive Nasdaq Composite bounced 1.51%. The Dow added 0.85%.
Treasury yields declined further in the wake of Wednesday night's comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that additional rate hikes were "unlikely". The yield on 10-year US treasuries dropped to its lowest in two weeks as bond traders discounted the risk of further increases.
"The takeaway from yesterday is that the Fed's bias is still a downward, hold steady or cut rates. They're not willing to raise rates from here. They'll keep rates steady, and any sign of economic weakness or lower inflation, they are going to be ready to jump on it and cut" - Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor and market strategist at Murphy & Silvest (per Reuters).
Chip stocks rebounded from Wednesday's sell-off after Qualcomm topped analysts' Q1 sales and profit targets. Qualcomm gained 9.74%. Nvidia rose 3.34%.
Apple, which was due to report earnings after the bell this morning, gained 2.2% in regular trade.
Tech was the best of the sectors, rising 1.64%. Also strong: consumer discretionary +1.58%, real estate +1.38% and communication services +1.18%.
Materials was the night's weakest sector, losing 0.51% as gold and other metals declined. Health also finished lower, easing 0.11%.
Key events today:
China market holiday
US April jobs report (non-farm employment change) - tonight
US services PMI - tonight
S&P 500: up 46 points or 0.91%
Dow: up 322 points or 0.85%
Nasdaq: up 235 points or 1.51%
Dollar: up 0.51% to 65.63 US cents
Brent crude: up 23 US cents or 0.3% to US$83.67
Gold: down 0.7% to US$2,299.20
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: up 0.52%
Bitcoin: down 3.7% to US$56,979
Copper (LME): down 1.02% to US$9,795
Nickel (LME): down 0.9% to US$18,780
Uranium (spot price): up 2.16% to US$93
Lithium carbonate (China spot): up 0.14% to US$15,444
Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF: up 3.56% (3-week high)
