Wall St closed Monday’s trading session mixed as investors await key US inflation data. The Dow Jones lost 0.03%, the S&P 500 fell 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.03%. US treasury yields also rose, up 4 basis points to 4.42%. In terms of US shares, Tesla shares gained 4.9% following the announcement from CEO, Elon Musk that the company’s robotaxi will be unveiled in August.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher to start the trading week as investors await on decisions from the central bank. The STOXX600 ended the day 0.5% in the green, led by mining stocks which rallied 2% whilst media stocks fell 0.2%. Germany’s DAX rose 0.79%, the French CAC increased by 0.72% and over I the UK the FTSE 100 gained 0.41%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 rose by 0.2% by market close, led by gains in the information technology and utilities sectors of 1.19% and 0.83% respectively. This was offset by the energy sector which lost 1.24% by closing bell.

What to watch today: 

• The Australian share market is set to open higher with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.46% at market open this morning.
• On the commodity front this morning, 
  • Oil is trading 0.44% lower at US$86.57 a barrel as easing tensions in the Middle East outweighed expectations of tighter global supply.
  • Gold is trading 0.41% higher at US$2339 an ounce and iron ore is trading flat at US$102 a tonne.

Trading Ideas: 

• Bell Potter has maintained a buy rating on Beach Energy (ASX:BPT), despite decreasing its 12-month price target to $1.80. The buy rating is maintained by Bell Potter as Waitsia Stage 2 and expansions in the Otways are key growth drivers for BPT, in a market where peers are struggling to lift production. BPT is rolling-off peak capex into a step-change in production and free cash flow in FY25-26 and has retained a strong balance sheet.
• And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal in Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT), indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $0.84 to the range of $0.71-$0.73 on a pattern formed over 23 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.