Major averages closed in the red on Wall Street overnight to start their trading week. The Dow Jones declined 0.77%, the S&P500 fell 0.43% and the Nasdaq down 0.22%. US investors awaiting Nvidia’s earnings and the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge in the coming days.

European markets were mostly lower. The German DAX down 0.37%, France’s CAC declined further down 1.56%, after the country’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou announced he will be seeking a confidence vote in parliament next month over the government’s budget plans. The FTSE100 however closed in the green up just 0.13%, while the STOXX600 was lower, down 0.44%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 edged slightly higher at the close, ending the session with a 0.06% gain, as materials and energy stocks lead the market higher.

What to watch today:

• Following US equities overnight, the Australian market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures suggesting at 0.21% drop at the open this morning.
• In economic news, the latest RBA meeting minutes will be released today, providing further insight into when the RBA slashed its cash rate by 25bps to 3.6% at its August meeting, matching market expectations and bringing borrowing costs to their lowest since April 2023.
• And as we near the end of reporting season, we still have a number of companies reporting their earnings results. Keep watch of the share price movements of Coles (ASX:COL), Fortescue (ASX:FMG), G8 Education (ASX:G8E) and Helloworld Travel (ASX:HLO), just to name a few.
• In commodities:
  • Crude oil has advanced again, up 1.7% to US$64.74 per barrel the highest in nearly three weeks, extending a four-day rally as traders weighed geopolitical risks and monetary policy signals.
  • Gold is 0.2% lower at US$3,365.02 an ounce following a more than 1% gain in the previous session, as the US dollar attempted to recover after a dovish shift by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
  • And iron ore is in the green at US$101.60 per tonne, rebounding from last week’s losses.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on Accent Group (ASX:AX1) and have lowered their price target to $1.80. At the current share price of $1.49, this implies 20.8% share price growth in a year.
• And Trading Central have identified a bearish signal in Westpac (ASX:WBC) indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $38.29.