Between the Bells

The futures are suggesting the market will open 0.5% higher – with the focus on travel stocks and banks. 

What to watch today:

• Travel and tourism stocks will be in focus as the Federal Government will pay half price airfares for 800,000 Aussie visiting 13 regional areas from April 1 to July 31. 
• Keep an eye on travel stocks in bullish short breakouts like Webjet (ASX:WEB), Flight Centre (ASX:FLT), Qantas (ASX:QAN) and Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD).  
• Banks will also be in focus – with the Federal Government expected to expand its SME loan program offering interest free loans for up to $5 million over 10-years, 80% government backed.
• Keep an eye on banks stocks in share price breakouts: ANZ (ASX:ANZ), Auswide Bank (ASX:ABA), Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG). 
• Keep an eye on iron ore stocks as the spot iron ore price continued to fall, losing 5% - after a Chinese city was ordered to halt steel production to limit pollution.

Trading ideas:

• Janus Henderson (ASX:JHG) and Link (ASX:LNK) are two of Citi’s favourite Buys in the non-banking financial space. Both are continuing to benefit from growing earnings. 
• FYI Resources (ASX:FYI), TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) and BSA Limited (ASX:BSA) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The broad market is expected to rise 0.4% with tech stocks in focus. 

This comes as the tables were turned last night – with investors smashing the ‘risk-on’ switch. This saw the Nasdaq lift 3.6%, its best gain in 4-months, while the broader S&P500 rose 1.4% 

What to watch today:  

• Yesterday, we saw the markets shorter-term 15-day average fall under the 30-day average. This is a bearish signal. It occurred last in September 2020 and then the market fell 5%. 
• PayPal is set to launch its pay in four instalment options to 9-million Aussies in June – so Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Zip (ASX:Z1P) could be losing market share locally.
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) has just announced its launch into Europe has gone ahead of schedule, after it completed the takeover of BNPL provider Pagantis. And buy orders are stacking up in APT as well as Zip. 
• EOS (ASX:EOS) was mentioned on the ABC – for allegedly working on a new weapon system for a defence force. So EOS is likely to see some extra buying. 
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday: Redflow (ASX:RFX) which rose 43% and Digital Win Ventures (ASX:DW8) which rose 29%. 
• Consumer confidence data out for March as well as new home sales and building permit data. 

Trading ideas:

• Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) was reiterated as a Bell Potter Buy with a $1.67 target despite China unveiling plans to boost nickel production. 
• First Graphene (ASX:FGR), Graincorp (ASX:GNC) and Element 25 (ASX:E25) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie share market is expected to lift 0.7% if the futures are correct with the focus to be on commodity and cyclicals stocks.

What to watch today: 

• DDH1 (ASX:DDH) is expected to float on the ASX today at 1pm, the second biggest IPO this year.
• Lithium major and UBS buy, Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) are set to bounce after releasing its Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Quebec project in Canada. This allows Galaxy to advance the project straight into engineering phase.
• Resilient iron ore stocks could see a rally with the as the ire ore price 0.3% to US$173
• Oil stocks are likely to take a breather as the oil price fell over 2% overnight to US$64. 
• Gold slumped to a new nine month low losing 1.2%

Economic news this week:

• Business confidence figures are released today
• New home sales data for Feb is out

Trading ideas:

• Calix (ASX:CXL) was given a big upgrade by Bell Potter overnight with a new $2.94 target.
• Praemium (ASX:PPS), Lovisa (ASX:LOV) and Humm (ASX:HUM) could be worth a look following bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie share market is likely to lift 1.6% or 107 points, after US stocks sharply rebounded at the weekend.

Keep in mind volume could be a bit lighter today as Victoria celebrates a public holiday. 

What to watch today 

• Oil and industrial stocks will likely charge following sentiment on Wall Street. Keep an eye on Oil Search (ASX:OSH) & Santos (ASX:STO). 
• Expect locally listed BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to rally after their US listed counterparts rose on Friday. RIO in NY rose 2% while BHP rose 0.5%. 
• In the Lithium space, keep in mind US listed giants rose on Friday and Audi announced it’s moving to produce fully electric cars. 
• St Barbara (ASX:SBM) and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) could be a little lackluster after the safe haven commodity, Gold, fell to its lowest level in nine months on Friday.
• Copper stocks could see a rebound after Copper jumped 4%.
• Eco news this week: Business confidence is out tomorrow and Consumer Confidence is out Wednesday.

Trading ideas:

• UBS upgraded Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX:CIP), increasing its price target to $3.54. 
• Service Stream (ASX:SSM), IGO (ASX:IGO), Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie share market lifted 1.3% (Mon-Thu) breaking its two-week losing streak. With a record trade surplus announced, and unparalleled economic growth... it seems the economic pandemonium created by the pandemic is history. However, with prices and interest rates now rising, where do you invest now?
 
 In this week’s wrap, Jessica covers:

• (0:30) Financials outperforming, up 5% with Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) notching its biggest gain in five-weeks
• (0:38) CSL shares falling to a 2.5-year low. Is it time to buy CSL?
• (1:34) Rare-earth companies to watch following a shift in Chinese policy
• (2:25) 'Bond yields' rising and why this shouldn't cause alarm
• (4:07) What's driving the lithium price, and two stocks to consider
• (4:46) Four stocks that could fly, if you're looking for growth 

The broad Aussie market is expected to retreat 0.3% or 17 points  –after gaining 1.3% this week.  

What to watch today: 

• Keep an eye on BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIP) – both stocks are in short term breakouts and growing their earnings, which is supported by the commodity rally. 
• The Iron ore price rose 0.5% overnight to US$175, hot on the heels of a 10-year high, and it’s likely to move further north until Vale’s production returns to its normal state. 
• Elsewhere, Gold, Silver and Copper stocks could see some pressure again today as their base metal prices fell sharply for the second day.
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday: BlackEarth Minerals (ASX:BEM) rose 25%, BPH Energy (ASX:BPH) fell 36%, and up and coming rare earth developer Vital Metals (ASX:VML) fell 15%. 
• Services sector data is out today for February expected to show the sector is continuing to slowly grow – keep an eye on pub owners companies like Redcape Hotels (ASX:RDC) and ALE Property Group (ASX:LEP). 

Trading ideas:

• Citi upgraded ARB Holdings (ASX:ARB) with a beefed up target of $45.15 after the business announced its ramping up its European operations.  
• GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) had its Bell Potter Buy rating reiterated with a $5.20 target. 
• Ava Risk Group (ASX:AVA), Motorcycle Holdings (ASX:MTO) and Imdex (ASX:IMD) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The broad Aussie market is expected to retreat 0.6% as investors roll out the playbook – and rotate to stocks benefiting from higher prices. 

Investors are continuing to re-adjust their portfolios after bond yields rose again overnight. 

What to watch today:

• Gold, Silver and Copper stocks are likely to see some profit taking as their base metal prices fell over 1% overnight. 
• Nickel rose 0.6% overnight and Iron Ore rose 0.8%. So keep an eye on stocks in breakouts/seeing strong rallies in these areas like: Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC), Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX), BHP (ASX:BHP), Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX) and Magnetite Mines (ASX:MGT).
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday: Vital Metals (ASX:VML) and Hawkstone Mining (ASX:HWK). 
• Balance of trade data for January is out today – this tells us how much Australia paid for its imports and received for its exports. 
• Retail sales data for January is out today – it’s expected to show sales grew 0.6% in January so keep an eye on consumer spending stocks. 

Trading ideas:

• PSC Insurance (ASX:PSI) is a Bell Potter Buy, with an upgraded price target of $3.90, implying 16% upside. 
• Elders (ASX:ELD) is a Bell Potter Buy with an increased price target of $13.60 target as its wool and crop businesses delivered stronger than expected earnings. 
• SenSen Networks (ASX:SNS), West African Resources (ASX:WAF) and Australian Finance Group (ASX:AFG) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The futures are suggesting the Aussie share market will lift 0.2% thanks to commodities charging. 

What to watch today  

• Gold stocks like Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and St Barbara (ASX:SBM), which are both are in downtrends and momentum is building in a southern direction. So, it could be worth waiting if you are looking at buying into these stocks. 
• Keep an eye on Copper stocks with strong share price and earnings momentum: Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL) and Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR). 
• In smaller caps, keep an eye on Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) and Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (ASX:C6C).
• Keep an eye on some of the most traded stocks from yesterday for our active trader desk, Bell Direct Advantage. They were Peppermint Innovation (ASX:PIL) and Cannindah Resources (ASX:CAE).
• Economic data out today: economic growth data for the last quarter of 2020. 

Trading ideas:

• BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX:BCI) was given a little upgrade overnight. Bell Potter maintained its Buy rating in BCI, increasing its target to $0.50, implying 64% upside. 
• UBS reiterated its Buy recommendations on CSL (ASX:CSL) overnight with a $330 target. 
• Suncorp (ASX:SUN), Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) and JB Hi Fi (ASX:JBH) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

Almost in a reverse of what we’ve seen over the last week, the Nasdaq surged 2.9% and the S&P500 rose 2.4%. Investors bought heavily into big tech giants and economic recovery stocks, and sold down on bonds. So long-term interest rates have fallen and importantly they’ve also stabilised, proving the risk on mood is back. 

The futures are suggesting the Aussie share market will lift 0.7%, which will be a nice addition to yesterday’s 1.7% push up. 

What to watch today:

• Tech stocks will see a lot of action today - after pulling back 13% last week. 
• Agricultural stocks like Elders (ASX:ELD), Greenlane Renewables (ASX:GRN), Nufarm (ASX:NUF) and Rural Funds Group (ASX:RRF), as the Ag-body ABARES is forecasting the sector will recover $66b of their produce this year. 
• Aged care companies like Estia (ASX:EHE) and Regis (ASX:REG) who are likely to receive an extra $452m in funding in the wake of the Aged Care Royal Commission.  
• Building permits are out today for Jan - the market expects permits to have fallen 3% in Jan. 
• The RBA meets today – all eyes will be on stimulus - as in how much more bonds will be bought to keep the AUD low. 

Trading ideas:

• Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) was initiated as a Bell Potter speculative Buy with a $0.60 target, implying 155% upside. 
• UBS increased its Buy recommendations on Nufarm (ASX:NUF) with a $5.70 price target. 
• BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL), Straker Translation (ASX:STG) and OFX Group (ASX:OFX) are all giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

A bit of a rebound is on the cards to kick off March. The futures are suggesting the Aussie share market will lift 0.4% at the open. 

This comes as the iron ore price rose, while big US tech names rebounded at the weekend, as bond yields retreated from their one-year peak. 

What to watch today:

• Tech stocks are expected to see a bit of excitement and buying the dip action today.
• Cyclical stocks like banks, energy, mining and industrial companies, could see some extra buying this week.
• Keep your eye on aged care companies: Estia (ASX:EHE) and Regis (ASX:REG) as the Aged Care Royal Commission is due to hand down about 100 recommendations for the sector today.
• Commodity stocks will see mixed action today. Oil fell 3% to US$61.50. Gold tumbled 3%. Silver fell 3%. Iron ore rose 0.6% and the coal price rose almost 2%. 

• Eco data out this week: home loan application data for Jan is out today, the RBA meets tomorrow to decide on interest rates & economic growth data for the last quarter of 2020 is out on Wednesday.

Trading ideas:

• BWX (ASX:BWX) had its Buy rating upgraded by Bell Potter, with an increased $5.40 target. BWX was upgraded factoring in new partnerships, sales agreements, and its increased global presence. 
• UBS reiterated its Buy recommendation on coal giant, Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) with a $2.30 price target. With the stock WHC up 25% in 6-months, and coal prices continuing to recover, UBS sees stronger returns to shareholders. 
• OFX Group (ASX:OFX), Macmahon Holdings (ASX:MAH) and Mortgage Choice (ASX:MOC) are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.