The local futures are pricing in that the market could fall 0.9% at the open. Overnight on markets, the undertone was mostly negative, with COVID-19 cases spiking in the U.S., China and Europe. The Dow fell 2.3%, marking its worst fall in 8-weeks. the S&P 500 shed 1.9% and the Nasdaq fell 1.6%.

Commodities were weaker. Oil fell over 3% to US$38.55 with Libyan output rising. Gold steadied at US$1,904, as investors topped up their bond exposure instead.What to watch today:

·       Boral (ASX:BLD) agrees to sell its 50% stake in USG Boral for A$1.43 billion

·       Northern Star (ASX:NST) announced first quarter gold sales are at the top end of guidance.

·       Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) announced quarter results. Pointsbet Holdings (ASX:PBH) is due to hand down theirs today.

·       AGMs: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), Nick Scali (ASX:NCK), Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA), Boral (ASX:BLD) & Link Market Services (ASX:LNK).

 
 Trading ideas:

·       Bell Potter upgraded Technology One’s (ASX:TNE) Buy rating, increasing its price target to $10, implying 14.4% upside in a year.

·       Bell Potter downgraded Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) as a Sell, dropping its price target to $0.50, implying a fall 31% in a year.

·       UBS reiterated Flexigroup (ASX:FXL) as a Buy with a $1.45 price target.

·       UBS reiterated Westpac (ASX:WBC) as a Buy with a $20.50 price target. Bell Potter targets WBC as a hold with a $20 target.

Perenti Global (ASX:PRN), Arena REIT (ASX:ARF), and IDP Education (ASX:IEL) are all showing bullish charting signals - according to Trading Central.