Wall St closed higher overnight after the latest US inflation report showed that core inflation slowed in December. The Dow Jones rose by 1.65%, the S&P 500 jumped 1.83% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 2.45% higher.

US Core inflation data was released last night and came in unexpectedly lower than the forecast of 0.3% month on month to 0.2% in December.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher following the release of UK and US inflation data. The STOXX600 snapped a 3-day losing streak ending the day 1.3% higher with all major sectors closing in the green. Gains were led by retail stocks which rallied by 2.7%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 fell by 0.22% by market close. Losses were led by the information technology and communication services sectors, which fell by 1.25% and 1.21% respectively. This was offset by the consumer discretionary sector which rose by 0.19% by market close.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 1.27% by market open this morning.
• In terms of economic data, Australian unemployment data will be released at 10:30 this morning with a forecast of 3.9%, the same as its previous result.
• On the commodities front this morning,
   
  • Oil is trading 3.83% higher at 80 US dollars and 45 cents a barrel after underlying inflation in the US triggered bets of lower rates by the Fed this year 
  • Gold is trading 0.76% higher at 2695 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading 1.29% higher at 99 US dollars and 99 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) and has a 12-month price target of $1.45. With a current share price of $0.75, this indicates a share price growth of 95% over the next 12-months, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Pacific Current Group (ASX:PAC), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $11.92 to the range of $12.31-$12.39, on a pattern formed over 13 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.