US equities closed near the flat line, with the Dow Jones just 0.04% higher, while the S&P 500 was 0.09% lower and the Nasdaq down 0.16% lower.

European major benchmarks closed higher, as regional markets regained momentum. The STOXX 600 closed 0.43% higher, with auto stocks up the most. Germany’s DAX maintained gains following German inflation figures being released during afternoon trading, slowing to 2.3% in November. The DAX is now at its highest level since the beginning of August. France’s CAC also closed in the green, while the FTSE 100 closed lower.

What to watch today:

• The Australian market is set to open slightly higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a 0.1% rise at the open this morning.
• In commodities,
  • Crude oil has jumped 1.65%, nearing US$78 per barrel, ahead of the OPEC+ meeting today, where the group will set its production policy for 2024. OPEC+ are considering new oil production cuts of as much as 1 million barrels a day.
  • Meanwhile, the price of gold has rallied, hitting its highest levels in nearly seven months, off the back of a sharp decline in the US dollar. So, keep watch of ASX- listed gold miners.
  • And iron ore is lower, trading at US$133.50 per tonne.
• In economic data, private sector credit data and building permit data will be out today. We’ll also be awaiting eurozone inflation for October out tonight.
• And there’s a list of companies holding their AGMs today. These include Imugene (ASX:IMU), Lake Resources (ASX:LKE), Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) and Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA).
• And stocks going ex-dividend today include Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) and Technology One (ASX:TNE).

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on EROAD (ASX:ERD) and have increased their price target by 6% to $0.95. At the stock’s current share price of $0.76, this implies 25% share price growth in a year.
• And Trading Central have identified a bullish signal on Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $7.43 to the range of $8.40 to $8.60 over 38 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.