Between the Bells

The Aussie share market looks set to open 0.3% higher to 6,672. This comes as US equities rallied following Congress confirming the election of Joe Biden as president, as well as traders looking away from the Washington unrest.

Elon Musk has just become the richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than $185b. Telsa’s share price rocketed around 8% and in 2020 increased more than ninefold.

What to watch today:

• It’s worth keeping an eye on Aussie tech stocks, like Afterpay (ASX:APT), and Xero (ASX:XRO) given the Nasdaq reached the 13,000 mark for the first time in history.
• BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) both closed at record highs yesterday, up 6% and 8.5% respectively, given the rising iron ore price.
• The oil price continues to rise as supply constraints retain focus amid the US Capitol drama.

Local trading ideas:

• Virgin Money (ASX:VUK), BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) and Mastermyne Group (ASX:MYE) are giving off strong bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie share market is eyeing a lift at the open of around 1.5% to 6,642. This follows a strong night of trade over on Wall Street after the Democrats came close to taking control of the Senate. Both the Dow and the S&P500 hit record highs with the Dow rising more than 400 points, as investors flocked to financial and industrial stocks on bets that the Democratic sweep in Georgia would result in more stimulus for the economy.

However, the gains were held in check after armed protestors overran the Capital building during the Electoral College vote count. The breach stopped the formal congressional count of President elect Joe Biden’s presidential election victory over Trump.

What to watch today:

• Locally, both Balance of Trade and building approvals data for November will be released.
• The Aussie dollar broke through US78c for the first time since March 2018.

Local trading ideas:

• National Tyre & Wheel (ASX:NTD), Mineral Commodities (ASX:MRC) and EMvision Medical Devices (ASX:EMV) are giving off strong bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie share market is set to fall 0.1% at the open despite Wall Street’s rally overnight.

The polls are now open for the runoff Georgia elections which are important to incoming US President Joe Biden’s next couple of years in the White House.

What to watch today:

• Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares fell 5% yesterday following the release of its share purchase plan on Monday. There were reports overnight that Zip and AsiaPay formed a partnership however, no ASX announcement was released.
• The gold price rallied overnight rising to US$1,948 off the back of a continued weaker US dollar and focus turning to the Georgia runoffs. Gold miners like Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), Saracen Mineral (ASX:SAR), Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and St Barbara (ASX:SBM) could be on the rise again today.
• The oil price has broken above $50 for the first time since February 2020 jumping 5.1% to US$50.06 a barrel, following Saudi Arabia announcing voluntary cuts. Today looks set to be a great day for energy producers like Santos (ASX:STO) and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL).

Local trading ideas:

• Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN), First Graphene (ASX:FGR) and Aurelia Metals (ASX:AMI) are giving off strong bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The Aussie share market is eyeing a fall of 0.5% at the open.

US stocks saw their worst year start sell off since 1983. The Aussie share market however gained 1.5% yesterday, marking the best start to the year in two decades. European equities closed higher for their first trading day of the year with the UK market up 1.7% as the second vaccine went into circulation.

In the US, construction spending data rose 0.9% in November, which was less than expected but still hit a record $1.5 trillion in the month.

All eyes are on Georgia which is preparing for Senate runoff elections on Tuesday. This could give Democrats a majority in the chamber.

Local trading ideas:

• Perenti Global (ASX:PRN), De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) and Adairs (ASX:ADH) are giving off strong bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a pull back of 1.2% at the open after ending 2020 1.5% lower.

The UK will start rolling out AstraZeneca’s vaccine today, meaning it will now have two vaccines in circulation while the country faces stricter lockdowns. In India, two vaccines have been approved for use.

People in Greater Sydney will be fined $200 if they’re caught not wearing a mask indoors as of today.

Gold rose 24% last year, the best yearly gain since 2010.

Empired (ASX:EPD), Vita Group (ASX:VTG), Pensana Metals (ASX:PM8), Engenco (ASX:EGN) and Hawthorn Resources (ASX:HAW) are showing bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

It’s the last full day of trade for the year with the ASX200 expected to pull back 0.5% following US stocks closing lower. Overnight we saw US equities rise to brand new record highs before falling into the red. The US House voted to increase the second federal handout to $2,000. BUT. The extra payout was blocked in the Senate on concern the extra payout on top of the $600 already approved, will swell national debt.

Commodities:

·       Oil price rose 0.5% after falling 1% in the previous session - so expect a rebound in some oil stocks.

·       Iron ore is up 0.1% to US$155.57 – a new 7-year high.

·       Gold inched up, as the US dollar fell. And that pushed the Aussie dollar to a two-year high - 76.8 US cents.

What to expect and watch today:

·       You could expect some reshuffling today as the year closes tomorrow at 2pm.

·       As the year wrap ups, traders will reflect on returns:

·       The best performers this year have been the stay at home economy stocks, like Afterpay (ASX:APT) up 303%. APT rose to a record $122 yesterday.

·       Stocks benefiting from China’s increased demand for Australian iron ore, and the lack of supply from Brazil, which boosted the iron ore price 68%, so Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) are up 120% this year.

·       The underdogs of 2020, like Flight Centre (ASX:FLT), Webjet (ASX:WEB) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW)

Trading ideas:

·       Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN), Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI) and Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) are all showing bullish charting patterns according to Trading Central. 

The Aussie share market is set to kick off its shortest and last trading week of the year on solid footing. The futures are suggesting a lift of 0.5% at the open.

It comes as European markets closed higher on Monday and US equities soared to brand new record highs – for two key reasons. Firstly, Trump unexpectedly signed the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill into law, that includes paying most Americans $600. Secondly, the UK is expected to approve Oxford-Astra Zeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine this week.

Commodities
- Oil fell 1% to US$47.70 as supply looks to increase.
- Iron ore rose 0.2% to US$155 - a new high.
- Inversely, expect selling today in Gold stocks as the safe haven came under pressure again, down 0.3% to US$1,877 on US stimulus being rolled out.

What else to watch
- No economic news today. All eyes will be on local company news.
- Whether or not the US House vote on increasing the $600 payout to Americans to $2,000.

Trading ideas:
- UBS increased Fortescue Metals’ (ASX:FMG) buy rating and target price to $24.
- UBS also reiterated CSL (ASX:CSL) as a buy with a $346 target.
- Qantas (ASX:QAN) looks likely to rally once travel restrictions ease. QAN is buy stock for UBS and Morgan Stanley.
- Resimac Group (ASX:RMC), EMvision Medical Devices (ASX:EMV) and - People Infrastructure (ASX:PPE) are all showing bullish charting signals according to Trading Central. 

The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.7% at the open, with the market closing early today, closed for Christmas tomorrow and Monday.

European markets made gains overnight on hopes that a Brexit trade deal would be done and on the back of France opening its border to England on Wednesday.

In the US, Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell from a 3-week high. Pfizer and BioNTech inked a deal with the US Government to rollout an extra 100 million vaccines.

Local trading ideas:
- Citi called out EOS (ASX:EOS) and FINEOS (ASX:FCL) as buys with $7.75 and $4.60 price targets respectively.
- Asaleo Care (ASX:AHY) was downgraded to a hold from a buy by Citi after AHY received a takeover offer that it recommends shareholders do not take action on.
- Kathmandu Holdings (ASX:KMD), Money3 (ASX:MNY) and Harvest Technology Group (ASX:HTG) are all showing bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.9% at the open, which should recover some of yesterday’s 1.1% loss.

US Congress leaders approved US$900 billion in COVID-19 aid which includes giving $600 to individuals.

Economic growth in the US grew 33.4% last quarter, erasing the prior 31.4% fall in April-June. The UK economy also grew in the third quarter, rising by a record 16%.

All eyes will be on the NSW Premier today with restrictions expected to remain until after Christmas.

Local trading ideas:

• Janison Education (ASX:JAN) was upgraded as a Bell Potter buy with a new $0.60 price target. This week JAN signed a 5-year $5m deal with Chartered Accountants to deliver an online education program.
• Youfoodz Holdings (ASX:YFZ) was called out as a Bell Potter buy for the first time with a $1.50 target, implying 57% growth in a year from yesterday’s close
• LaserBond (ASX:LBL), Kingsrose Mining (ASX:KRM) and Elders (ASX:ELD) are all showing bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.

The ASX200 is eyeing a fall of 0.4% at the open as investors weigh up that the NSW restrictions could shave 0.1% off this quarter’s economic growth according to Citi analysts.

Pfizer’s vaccine has been approved for use in the EU, while half a million people have already received the first dose of the vaccine in the UK. There are concerns that a new COVID-19 strain is in the UK and is spreading much faster, which has triggered more severe lockdowns and travel restrictions across Europe. Health authorities do say there is no evidence of a higher death rate in the new mutated strain.

In the US, Moderna is shipping its first batch of its vaccine.

US lawmakers agreed on a US$900 billion rescue package including direct payments of $600 to most adults and $600 per child.

What to watch today:

• Preliminary retail trade data is out today and is expected to show we spent 0.6% less in November. This comes after we splurged in October when retail trade rose 1.4%. 
• Orica (ASX:ORI) holds its AGM today.

Local trading ideas:

• City Chic Collective (ASX:CCX) has announced the purchase of another distressed business. CCX will be entering the $9 billion UK market, after it inked a deal to buy 90-year Evans eCommerce and wholesale businesses. City Chic Collective is a Bell Potter buy and was given a new $4.10 target, which implies 16% upside in a year. 
• Bell Potter upgraded Aeris Resources’ (ASX:AIS) price target to $0.12 and maintained its buy rating. Aeris Resources received higher than expected copper grades from its recent drilling in NSW and its shares charged over 5% yesterday.  
• Bell Potter reiterated Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) as a buy with a $1.49 target. NIC is also backed by Credit Suisse, Macquarie and Citi as a buy. Western Areas (ASX:WSA) is also a favoured nickel producer for Macquarie, Credit Suisse, and Citi.
• NRW Holdings (ASX:NWH), Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) and Praemium (ASX:PPS) are all showing bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.