In the US, Wall St saw a mixed trading session overnight. The S&P500 and NASDAQ both closed at fresh record highs, with a 0.3% gain for the former and a 0.03% gain for the latter.  In contrast, the Dow Jones saw a decline of 0.48%, largely bogged down by a tough day for Apple shares as the new iPhone announcement failed to impress investors.

Europe also saw a mixed session. The Stoxx600 edged slightly down 0.02%, the FTSE ended down 0.19%, the DAX saw the biggest decline, ending down 0.36%, while the French CAC actually advanced 0.15%.

Locally yesterday the ASX200 advanced 0.31%, with 9 of the 11 key sectors closing in the green. The market was weighed down by a tough day for material stocks, which fell 1.7% off the back of news that Chinese lithium mining giant CATL will resume operations in its Jianxi mine earlier than expected, causing Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) to tank 18% each.

What to watch today:

• The SPI futures indicate the ASX200 will open the trading session down 0.23%. 
• In commodities, Crude Oil saw a 1.65% price jump to 63 US dollars and 66 cents overnight as Poland downed drones in its airspace, and the US pushed for new sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, sparking worries about possible supply disruptions. 
• Meanwhile, gold prices continue to increase, trading up 0.43% to 3642 US dollars and 90 cents per ounce, while iron ore is trading down 0.26% to 105 US dollars and 80 cents per tonne. 

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has maintained their buy rating on agricultural chemicals supplier Nufarm (ASX:NUF) off the back of solid earnings season results. With a target price of $3.55 per share, this implies a 44% increase over 12 months from the current share prices of $2.28. 
• Trading Central have identified a bearish signal in BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL), indicating that the stock price may fall from the closing price of $22.20 per share to the range of $20-20.40 over a period of 17 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.