Wall St closed mixed overnight as the Dow snapped a three-day winning streak losing 0.8%. The S&P 500 fell 0.18%, whilst the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended Monday’s trading session 0.27% in the green.

Over in Europe, markets closed lower as investors monitor heightened Middle Eastern tensions. The STOXX600 closed 0.7% lower with nearly all major sectors ending the day negatively. Losses were led by insurance stocks which fell 1.1%, whilst oil & gas stocks rose 0.6%.

Germany’s DAX and the French CAC both lost 1%, whilst over in the UK the FTSE 100 dropped nearly half a percent.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 ended Monday’s trading session 0.74% higher with all but one major sector ending the day in the green. Gains were led by the materials and energy sectors which closed 1.44% and 1.25% higher respectively. This was offset by the information technology sector which fell 2.97%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures suggesting a fall of 0.81% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 1.67% higher at 70 US dollars and 37 cents a barrel as rising Middle Eastern tensions threaten supply disruptions.
  • Gold is trading 0.08% lower at 2719 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading flat at 105 US dollars and 37 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) and has a current share price of $1.25. The 12-month price target of $1.50 indicates a share price growth of 20%, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA), indicating that the share price may fall from the close of $4.93 to the range of $4.57-$4.63, on a pattern formed over 10 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.