Australia will start to reopen its boarders in a bid to get the economy back on track, while the UK enters tougher restrictions for potentially the next six months. In the U.S., existing home sales soared 2.4% in August, to the highest reading in 14 years, supported by record low interest rates.
 Strong earnings, economic news and stimulus hopes supported sentiment and saw U.S. equities attempt to rebound after four days of selling. The S&P500 lifted 1.1%, the Nasdaq was up 1.7%, while the blue chip gained 0.5%.

Commodities:

·        Oil nudged slightly higher to US$39.60

·        Gold continued to drop and trades at US$1,905 as investors continue to invest in the safe haven U.S. dollar.

·        With that the Aussie dollar fell 0.8% to 71.67 US - this has continued to pressure the Iron Ore price, which lost 0.9%.

 What to watch today?

·        The Aussie futures are suggesting a rise of 1%.

·        Services and manufacturing numbers will be in focus today with a preview of what to expect in September, before the official readings are out next month.

Trading ideas:

·        Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) was maintained as a Buy by Citi with a $5.20 target price. HVN’s outlook remains upbeat with year on year July and August re-tax profit nearly tripling.

·        Saracen Mineral (ASX:SAR) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) were upgraded by Macquarie with a $6.10 and $16.40 price target respectively.

·        Keep an eye on Elders (ASX:ELD), Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) and Base Resources (ASX:BSE) - all three are giving off bullish charting signals according to Trading Central.