On Friday, Wall St closed higher to cap off what was the best week of 2024. The Dow Jones rose by 0.72%, the S&P500 jumped over half a percent and the tech heavy Nasdaq gained 0.65%.

In terms of US stocks, Alphabet rose 1.8% and Uber added more than 6%.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher to end the trading week following the European Central Bank’s decision to cut rates. The STOXX600 closed 0.72% higher with nearly all major sectors ending the day in the green. Gains were led by retail and autos stocks which jumped 1.84% and 1.6% respectively. This was offset by food and beverage stocks which fell 0.32%. Germany’s DAX climbed nearly 1%, the French CAC rose by 0.41% and over in the UK, the FTSE100 ended Friday’s trading session 0.39% higher.

Locally on Friday, the ASX200 rose by 0.3% with half of the major sectors ending the day positively. Gains were led by the materials and real estate sectors which rose by 2.25% and 1.02% respectively. This was offset by the financial sector which fell 0.61% by market close.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.2% at market open this morning.
• Oil is trading 0.46% lower at 68 US dollars and 65 cents a barrel, gold is trading 0.78% higher at 2578 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading 0.86% lower at 92 US dollars and 26 cents a tonne.

Trading Idea:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) and has a 12-month price target of $7.15. Bell Potter’s valuation implies a 24% share price growth of the current share price of $5.76, hence the buy rating is maintained.