Wall St closed lower overnight as Donald Trump announced a new 25% tariff on auto imports into the United States. The Dow Jones fell 0.31%, the S&P 500 lost 1.12% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by over 2%.

In terms of US stocks, Meta Platforms and Amazon lost more than 2%, Alphabet closed more than 3% lower and Tesla closed nearly 6% in the red.

Over in Europe, markets closed lower as investors react to new tariffs implemented over in the US. The STOXX600 dropped 0.7%, led by autos which fell by 2.6%. Germany’s DAX lowered 1.17%, the French CAC closed nearly 1% lower, whilst over in the UK, the FTSE100 rose by 0.3%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 rose by 0.71% with all but one major sector closing in the green. Gains were led by the consumer staples and real estate sectors which rose by 1.19% and 1.15% respectively. This was offset by the health sector which fell by over half a percent by the closing bell.

Monthly inflation data was released yesterday coming in at 2.4% for February. This was lower than consensus of 2.5% and the forecast of 2.6%. The CPI falling is a good thing for the RBA’s outlook for rate cuts to come as inflation drivers are all moving in the right direction – wages price inflation came down, GDP uptick, retail sales easing and the unemployment rate ticked back up to 4.1% which is favourable for the rate cut journey.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open lower with the SPI futures suggesting a fall of 0.46% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 1.36% higher at 69 US dollars and 94 cents a barrel, as investors increase concerns over tight oil supply.
  • Gold fell by just 0.04% to 3019 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading 0.03% lower at 102 US dollars and 18 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and has a 12-month price target of $7.70. The buy rating is maintained by Bell Potter as their balance sheet will significantly de-risk with the Blackwater selldown completion in late March 2025. As well, further productivity enhancements across WHC’s Queensland portfolio should support higher production, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $3.23 to the range of $3.53-$3.61, on a pattern formed over 8 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.