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Wall St closed higher overnight as Donald Trump nominated Scott Bessent as the new Treasury secretary. The Dow Jones closed at new record highs, up 1%, the S&P 500 jumped 0.3% and the tech heavy Nasdaq gained 0.27%.

Investors were happy that Bessent, the founder of Key Square Group was nominated by Trump for the Treasury secretary role and believe that he will be supportive of the equity market and mitigate some of Trump’s protectionist policies such as his stance on taxing imports.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher as global markets rise. The STOXX600 closed 0.14% in the green with the majority of sectors closing in the green. Gains were led by mining stocks which added 1.21%, whilst oil and gas stocks fell 1%. Germany’s DAX rose by 0.43%, the French CAC gained 0.03% and over in the UK, the FTSE100 rose by 0.36%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 closed 0.28% in the green with most major sectors closing in the green. Gains were led by the real estate and health sectors which jumped 1.57% and 1.34% respectively. This was offset by the utilities sector which fell by over 1%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures predicting a rise of 0.21% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 3.1% lower at 69 US dollars and 3 cents a barrel following reports that Israel and Hezbollah could be close to a cease-fire within the coming days.
  • Gold is trading 3.29% lower at 2626 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading 0.07% lower at 101 US dollars and 95 cents a tonne.

Trading Idea:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on IPD Group (ASX:IPG) and has a current share price of $3.69. The 12-month price target of $5.30 indicates a share price growth of 43.6%, hence the buy rating is maintained.