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Wall St closed mixed overnight following the release of a softer than expected inflation report. The Dow Jones fell by 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose by nearly half a percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.22%.

Core inflation data month was released overnight coming in at 0.2%, lower than the consensus and forecast of 0.3% and its previous result of 0.4%.

Over in Europe, markets closed higher despite the announcement by the European Union of an introduction of tariffs on a variety of US imports. The STOXX600 rose by 0.81%, Germany’s DAX climbed 1.56%, the French CAC rallied 0.59% and over in the UK, the FTSE100 ended Wednesday’s trading session higher by 0.53%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 fell by 1.32% with all but one major sector closing in the red. Losses were led by the consumer discretionary and industrial sectors which lost 2.02% and 1.88% respectively. This was slightly offset by the utilities sector which rose by just 0.02%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.23% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 2.17% higher at 67 US dollars and 69 cents a barrel as easing inflation boosted market sentiment.
  • Gold is trading 0.62% higher at 2933 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading 0.06% higher at 101 US dollars and 5 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) with a 12-month price target of $1.20. With a current share price of $0.59, this indicates a share price growth greater than 100%, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• And Bell Potter also maintains a buy rating on Elders (ASX:ELD) with a 12-month price target of $9.40. At a current share price of $6.91, this indicates a share price growth of 36% over the next 12-months, hence the buy rating is maintained.