Wall Street closed mixed overnight with the Dow closing 0.2% higher, while the S&P500 closed 0.3% lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 1%. The Nasdaq dropped for the third straight session as investors shifted away from growth stocks amid signs that the US economy is weakening. The losses also followed weak eco data, where the latest ADP private payrolls report showed slowing job growth in March. 

European markets were also mixed, with the FTSE 100 the only index to close in positive territory. Germany’s Dax, France’s CAC and the Stoxx 600 were all lower. So it seems that investors uncertainly has resurfaced this week, over the global economy outlook. 

What to watch today:

• The SPI futures are suggesting the Australian market will open just 0.1% lower this morning. 
• Watch Santos (ASX:STO)’s share price today, as the oil and gas producer is set to hold its AGM. 
• Brickworks (ASX:BKW) is set to go ex-dividend today. 
• In commodities:
  • Oil is trading slightly lower, after being on the rise this week off the back of OPEC’s production cut announcement. 
  • Gold is steady at its highest levels in a year, around US$2,020 an ounce, as weak US data fuelled expectations that the Fed may not need to tighten further in the coming months to prevent a recession. 
  • Iron ore is at its lowest level since mid-January as the concerns continue of the low demand at the start of China’s peak construction season. 
• In economic data, Balance of Trade data for February will be out at 11:30am AEST. The last time this data was announced, Australia’s trade surplus declined to $11.69 billion in January, from a downwardly revised $12.99 billion in December, with exports rising less than imports. 

Trading Idea:

• Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on IPD Group (ASX:IPG), a leading distributor of electrical equipment and industrial digital technologies. They have increased their price target from $3.50 to $4.00. The broker says that IPD is set for two consecutive years of approximately 15% volume growth. Their EPS changes across FY23-25 estimates are +4-6% and they say the company has a large future runway of replacement demand as incentives behind the electrification of buildings infrastructure, transport and logistics sectors continue to evolve.