US equities ended the trading week in the green, as all three industry benchmarks closed higher. The Dow Jones gained 0.22%, the S&P500 posted a four-day winning streak, closing 0.19% higher, putting the index about 0.7% off its intraday record. This was after the latest inflation data was announced, which may provide incentive for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates this week. 

European markets closed mostly in the red, however the German DAX managed to advance 0.6%, while France’s CAC dropped 0.09%, the FTSE100 down 0.45% and the STOXX600 closed flat. The euro zone GDP rate was also released, showing the economy grew 0.3% in the third quarter. 

Locally, the ASX200 gained 0.24% over the week and closed 0.19% higher on Friday. On Friday, materials and financials were up the most, while consumer discretionary and energy weighed down on the market. 

What to watch today:

• Our local market is set to drop at the open, with the SPI futures suggesting a 0.15% decline at the time of recording. 
• Looking at commodities, 
  • Crude oil is up 0.69% at US$60.08 per barrel, holding at a two-week high, driven by geopolitical risk premium. 
  • Gold is trading flat at US$4,198.86 an ounce,
  • And iron ore is down 0.59% at US$107.24 per tonne, while seaborne iron ore has dropped to a near four- week low, following the Simandou project in Guinea which has sent its first commercial shipment to China, which is creating a boost in global supply. This is expected to arrive in China by mid- January which will provide China with an alternative to dominant shipments from Australia and Brazil. 
• And in economic news, investors are cautiously awaiting the next RBA cash rate decision which will be announced tomorrow. 

Trading Ideas:

• Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in Tabcorp Holdings (ASX:TAH) indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $0.94 to the range of $1.12 to $1.16 over 25 days.
• They have also identified a bearish signal in Supply Network (ASX:SNL) indicating that the stock price of fall from the close of $32.96 to the range of $28.90 - $29.70 over 15 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.