The Australian dollar has continued to soar, hitting a new two-year high overnight, 73.75 US cents. The reason for that is that the U.S. dollar continues to retreat, as inflation is now being encouraged to rise to over 2%, while interest rates are likely to remain at record lows for some time. Overnight, U.S. indices closed mixed, with the top 30 stocks, the Dow Jones falling 0.8%. The Nasdaq meanwhile gained 0.7%, supported by Apple shares rising 3.4%, and Amazon and Intel rising over 1% each.

The month of August marked great significance as both the broader S&P500 and Dow rose 7% - their best gain since the 1980's. This came as the ASX200 closed higher for the 5th month, up 2.24% - the best return since 2009.

Commodities:

• Gold holds steady where it was yesterday at US$1,974
• Oil fell 0.4% to US$42.82.

What to watch today:

• Aussie futures set to lose 0.96%, or 58 points at the open
• The RBA meets today – rates tipped to remain on hold at 0.25%
• BHP listed in New York lost 1.4%, Rio similarly fell by 1.2%

Trading ideas:

• Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) shares soared 18% yesterday to a record all time high – $9.69 after delivering results that were much stronger than expected. Its sales have risen 161%, and Bell Potter have increased its price target to $11.40.
• PointsBet (ASX:PBH) shares fell about 7% yesterday, but it managed to remain in record high territory at $13.03. Bell Potter have upgraded the stock’s buy rating, and increased the price target to $18.40.
• Sezzle (ASX:SZL) shares fell 9.4% yesterday to $10.27, after reporting its loss sank from $4.8m to $8.2m in the half year to June 30. However, its active merchants and customers increased 220-340%. Ord Minnett increased Sezzle’s price target to $11.80.