BPO TV

Over in the US, Wall Street closed in the green as investors assess the latest corporate results released alongside a retreat in treasury yields. Coca Cola shares closed higher after the beverage giant posted revenue and earnings that topped market expectations, while music streaming service Spotify soared 10% after the company posted third quarter results that topped expectations.

In Europe, markets snapped a 5-session losing streak to close higher on the release of strong corporate earnings results, despite unfavourable economic data being released. Hermes shares rose after the luxury retailer reported a 16% spike in sales growth for the third quarter. And the STOXX600 rose 0.4% on Tuesday, boosted by mining stocks rising 2.6%.

The ASX overcame Monday’s sell-off, closing higher yesterday as investors shook off fears of an extended war in the Middle East and bond yields continued to retreat, increasing demand for equities. The energy and materials sectors did most of the heavy lifting on the local market yesterday on the rising price of oil and iron ore.

What to watch today:

• Our local market is set to open higher this morning, with the SPI futures suggesting a 0.35% rise at the open.
• In economic news, inflation data is out today which will give investors and the RBA an indication of how well the rate hikes to date have worked toward taming inflation. The market is expecting Q3 inflation to drop to 5.3% year-on-year from 6% year-on-year in Q2. The recent key drivers have been services and housing inflation which will be two key metrics that the RBA and investors assess in the data out later today. Pending the result, we will likely see the ASX move accordingly after the data is released this morning, with sectors that are rate-sensitive like Tech and REIT stocks, likely to have the biggest impact.
• In commodities,
  • Crude oil is trading lower, extending losses for the third session.
  • Gold is slightly lower, pausing its recent climb to a five-month high off the back of a stronger US dollar and elevated yields, as investors awaited US GDP and inflation numbers.
  • While iron ore is trading higher, so keep watch of ASX-listed iron ore stocks today.
• And AU$1.00 has slightly strengthened to buy US$0.64, 95.24 Japanese Yen, 51.93 British Pence and NZ$1.09.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA). Their price target is $3.35 and at its current share price of $2.91, this implies 15% share price growth in a year.
• And Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $1.76 to the range of $1.86 to $1.89 over 23 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.