Overnight in the US Wall St rebounded from Monday’s drop as Cryptocurrency regained some of its losses, and investor confidence in an imminent Fed rate drop grows. The Dow Jones added 0.5%, the S&P500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq was the biggest winner on the day, closing 0.8% in the green as tech stocks, especially those in the recently volatile AI trade, posted gains. 

It was a relatively stable day across the other global markets – in Europe the Stoxx600 index rose just 0.06% as a 0.5% gain for Germany’s Dax was offset by a 0.3% drop for the French CAC, while the British FTSE ended flat. Meanwhile in Asia, China’s CSI fell 0.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei ended flat. 

Back in Australia yesterday, the ASX 200 posted a 0.2% gain, propelled mainly by a strong day for energy and materials. Major players in the energy space Woodside (ASX:WDS), Santos (ASX:STO) and Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) all added 1% on yesterday’s trade, while materials were lead by BHP (ASX:BHP), Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), which all posted gains of over 1%.

What to watch today:

• And the SPI futures indicate that the momentum will continue, suggesting a 0.17% rise at the open of trade today. 
• Investors should also keep an eye on key economic data being released today, specifically the GDP figures which are due at 11:30am Sydney time.
• Moving into commodities:
   
  • Crude Oil continues to be volatile, trading down 1.2% to US$58.60 per barrel. The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to stay front and centre, as uncertainties around the peace plan remain. 
  • In precious metals, Gold has retreated slightly, trading 0.5% lower at US$4208 per ounce, while Silver continues to advance, trading 0.9% higher at US$58.53 per ounce. 
  • And Iron ore is trading 0.4% higher at US$107.35 per tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Finally, we’ll end on some trading ideas for your consideration today. Bell Potter have initiated coverage on specialist retailer of lighting, fans and electrical accessories Beacon Lighting (ASX:BLX), with a 12-month target price of $3.35 per share. They expect that its trade business, which currently makes up around 40% of its revenue, will continue to expand over the next 2-3 years.
• And Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), indicating that the share price may rise from the closing price of $135 per share, to the range of $142 to $143.50 per share over a period of 23 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.