Overnight, Wall St closed flat as investors await for the Federal Reserve interest rate decision in the US on Wednesday. The Dow Jones fell 0.04%, the S&P500 rose 0.03% and the tech heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.2%.

The Federal Reserves interest rate decision will be announced after local market close today following the aggressive hiking campaign that started in March 2022, which could help boost earnings growth for companies following recent high borrowing costs and inflation.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher as they rebounded from a negative session to start the week. The STOXX600 ended Tuesday’s trading session 0.42% in the green with banks leading gains up 1%. Germany’s DAX and the French CAC both gained half a percent and over in the UK, the FTSE100 rallied by 0.38% by market close. 

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 rose by 0.24% by market close yesterday with all major sectors closing in the green. Gains were led by the information technology and real estate sectors which gained 1.07% and 0.71% respectively.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures suggesting a fall of 0.48% at market open today.
• On the commodities front this morning,
   
  • Oil is trading 1.33% higher at 71 US dollars and 2 cents a barrel as it is expected that demand for oil will rise once the Federal Reserve cuts rates overnight. 
  • Gold is trading 0.55% lower at 2569 US dollars an ounce and iron ore fell 0.35% at 91 US dollars and 94 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Austal Limited (ASX:ASB) and has a 12-month price target of $3.15. The buy rating is maintained by Bell Potter following the announcement of a $670 million contract from General Dynamics Electric Boat to expand its shipyard in Alabama by designing and constructing a new module fabrication and outfitting facility to support the US Navy Submarine Industrial Base. It is believed by Bell Potter that this is a significant update for ASB that will diversify its shipbuilding operations, drive long-term revenue growth, and reinforce its position as a key contributor to the US naval industrial base, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Accent Group (ASX:AX1), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $2.27 to the range of $2.90-$3.05, on a pattern formed over 194 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.