MARKETS SPECTATOR: Bulls back

The bulls were back out in force again overnight, resuming from where they left off on Tuesday morning as all the pre-market earnings beat expectations and economic data also impressed.

On top of that, the Europeans had a good session so there were no worries from the other side of the Atlantic either.

On the back of the optimism seen offshore, the local bourse looks set for a bright start, with SPI futures calling the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 at 4522, some 0.6 per cent firmer.

Yesterday's session showed a bit of selling pressure above the psychologically important 4500 level so we will want to see a definitive move through and close above that area before we can say there's no significant selling pressure there.

It will also be interesting to see if there is any remaining concern over yesterday's RBA Meeting Minutes and ‘lack of dovishness' that saw interest rate markets lower the probability of a November rate cut. This was a driving force behind yesterday's decline from the highs.

Nonetheless, it looks like gains are going to be relatively widespread if US sectors are anything to go by, with cyclical sectors like materials set to outperform. BHP had a strong session in London, adding more than 1.1 per cent. We should also see a bit of a rebound in gold names too after the precious metal rallied decisively from its lows to be back up around the US$1747/oz mark.

In terms of news for the session, the relatively minor MI Leading Index is due out at 10.30am AEDT while BHP Billiton's Q3 production report is slated for release. Yesterday's production reports from Fortescue and Rio Tinto were basically in line with expectations, so traders will be looking for much the same from BHP, if not better.