US equities closed the first session of the week in the red. The Dow Jones down 0.2% and the S&P500 down 0.4%, while the Nasdaq dropped a little over 1%. And this week is a short trading week on Wall Street due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Fears that China may again enforce COVID restrictions after reporting deaths from the virus, weighed on markets overnight, and sent energy stocks and oil prices lower.

European markets also closed lower, as investors continue to assess inflationary pressures. The STOXX 600 closed flat, Germany’s DAX down 0.4%, the French CAC down just 0.2%, while in the UK the FTSE100 closed down just 0.1%.

What to watch today:

• Despite the losses across overseas markets, the SPI futures are suggesting the Australian market will rise 0.4% at the open this morning.
• In economic data, the RBA Governor Phillip Lowe is set to give a speech at 6pm tonight.
• And in commodities, the oil price is steady after falling over 5% to its lowest level since January, after Saudi Arabia denied news of a potential oil output increase. The gold price continues to weaken, falling for the fourth straight session. While iron ore is trading more than 2% higher at US$99.50 per tonne, its highest level in eight weeks, and advancing 22% since the start of the month.

Trading Idea:

• Bell Potter have initiated coverage on Cedar Woods Properties (ASX:CWP) with a Buy rating. CWP is a medium sized Australian property developer that operated in four Australian states, with around half of its operations in WA. The main business model is to buy land, seek approvals to develop, then either subdivide and sell the land, or build apartments and townhouses. Rising interest rates have had an impact on sentiment and the share price. Bell Potter price target on CWP is $5.40, and at the stock’s current share price of $4.04, this implies 33.7% share price growth in a year.