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Our local market closed 0.13% higher yesterday as communication services and tech stocks advanced the most. Energy stocks also rallied yesterday, following the news that OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL) rejected BHP’s takeover bid. Copper and lithium stocks also gained, with Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) closing the trading session more than 15% higher. LKE was followed by Megaport (ASX:MP1), which released solid full-year results. Meanwhile, Imugene (ASX:IMU) and NAB declined the most.

The major miners were the most traded stocks by Bell Direct clients. These were Lake Resources (ASX:LKE), BHP Group (ASX:BHP), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).

In global markets, investors are trading cautiously as we wait on US inflation data. July’s US consumer price index data will be released at 10:30pm AEST today. European and US equities closed lower as investors assess the potential pace of the US Fed’s monetary policy tightening. The next Fed meeting isn’t until September; however tonight’s inflation figures will give us an indication of what to expect. In Europe, the STOXX 600 ended 0.6% lower with tech stocks leading the losses. And over in New York, the Dow Jones was down 0.2%, the S&P500 down 0.4% and the Nasdaq down 1.2%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian market is set to fall 0.56% at the open this morning, going by the SPI futures.
• In commodities,
  • Oil is trading in the red, around US$90 per barrel, as investors weigh the potential for additional supply from Iran against the suspension of Russian oil exports. So as oil softens, watch energy producers such as Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) and Santos (ASX:STO).
  • The price of gold however is trading higher, as investors continue to bid on the safe-haven metal as concerns around a US recession and geopolitical tensions weigh on the market. Some gold stocks to watch include Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
  • Iron ore is also higher, around US$113 a tonne. The price has rebounded after hitting its seven-month low at US$100.
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA), Computershare (ASX:CPU), Dexus (ASX:DXI) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) will be releasing their results today.
  • For CBA, Citi are expecting NPAT to be $9,578 million while consensus is lower at $9,282 million. Currently, Citi have a Sell rating on CBA with a price target of $90.75, and Morgan Stanley came out yesterday with an Underweight rating and a price target of $82. And watch out for Bell Direct’s coverage on CBA’s results later today.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintain a Buy rating on Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) after the company reported its half-year results yesterday. NPAT came in at US$562 million, above Bell Potter’s estimate of $522 million. The company also declared an ordinary interim dividend of US 7.5cps, higher than Bell Potter’s estimated US 6cps. CRN also maintained their guidance outlook, which includes a strong half in coal output. The broker increased their price target from $1.95 to $2.05, and at CRN’s current share price of $1.60, this implies 28.1% share price growth in a year.
• Trading Central have identified a bearish signal in AGL Energy (ASX:AGL), indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $8.47 to the range of $7.75 to $7.90 over 17 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.