The market is down 3. SFE Futures were up 20 this morning as the Dow Jones finished up 33 overnight. The Dow was up 58 at best and continues to make all-time highs.

Wall Street has tonight’s non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate to look forward to — judging from yesterday’s ADP employment numbers and the overnight weekly jobless numbers the number should be good and continue to feed US economic recovery hopes. The S&P 500 was up 0.18% and the NASDAQ was up 0.30%

US 10-year bond yield was up 5bpts to 1.99%. Best sectors — financials, w=materials. Worst sectors — energy, telecom, healthcare, utilities.

European markets up — UK FTSE up 0.18%, German DAX up 0.26%, France up 0.53%, Spain up 0.36%, Italy up 0.30%. The eurozone’s interest rate was left at 0.75% by the ECB, as expected.

The ECB now expects the eurozone economy to contract by 0.5% in 2013 (down on the bank’s prior forecast of -0.3%). GDP growth in 2014 is now projected to be +1.0% (previously +1.2%).

Metals up — copper up 0.99%, nickel 0.75%, zinc up 0.75%, lead up 1.00%. Spot iron ore was up 60c to $145.80. Gold up $2.60 to $1577.50. Oil up $1.13 to $91.56. BHP and RIO up 0.04% and 1.34% in ADR form in the US with BHP closing at the equivalent of 3593c up 11c on last night’s close here.

  • Leighton Holdings (LEI) — Has won a $120 million deal to work on a major rail extension in Sydney. The work involves two other companies on six kilometres of new rail track, bridge and station works. Construction is expected to start later this year and to be completed in mid 2016. LEI is down 2.14% to 2149c.
  • Chinese numbers this weekend — PPI, CPI and Industrial production numbers are out this weekend. Chinese trade numbers are due out today.
  • US economics —  Non-farm payrolls (consensus +160,000), unemployment rate (consensus 7.9%) and hourly earnings — tonight.
  • Daylight saving in the US – From Monday the US will have moved to daylight saving, meaning US markets will close at 7am our time instead of 8am.
  • China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has made an accusation that miners (RIO, BHP and Vale) and traders are manipulating the spot iron ore price, which is used as a reference rate for cargo sales contracts. The story is a little like the manipulation of LIBOR … manipulating a reference rate to affect market prices. By all accounts the miners can move and control the still rather illiquid spot price with small cargo sales at premiums to the current price and in so doing manipulate their commercial cargo contract prices. Iron ore stocks up today despite the story.
  • Ex dividend today — Telecom Corporation (6.27c), Downer EDI (10c), Seven West Media (6c), Trade Me Group (6.08c), FlexiGroup (7c), InvoCare (19c), iiNet (8c), GWA Group (6c), Western Areas (2c), Boart Longyear (0.96c), Forge Group (10c),  Kingsgate Consolidated (5c) and Cash Converters (2c).