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Wall St closed higher overnight as markets await the US Federal Reserve decision out later in the week. The Dow Jones climbed 0.2%, the S&P 500 closed 0.63% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the trading session 0.82% in the green.

In terms of US shares, Alphabet gained 4.6% after reports that Apple was in talks with Google to include the company’s Gemini AI in iPhones.

Over in Europe, markets closed lower as investors look ahead to the US Federal Reserve meeting. The STOXX 600 closed 0.1% lower with telecoms falling 1.4%, whilst autos rallied 0.9%. Germany’s DAX closed slightly lower, down 0.02%, the French CAC lost 0.2% and over in the UK the FTSE 100 fell 0.06%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 closed slightly higher, up 0.07% by market close. Gains were lead by the financial and materials sector which gained 0.56% and 0.25% respectively. This was offset by the real estate sector which lost 1.87%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open marginally higher, up 0.04% at market open this morning.
• In terms of economic data today, the RBA interest rate decision will be released this afternoon with the forecast and consensus coming in at 4.35%, the same as its previous result.
• On the commodity front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 2.09% higher at US$82.73 a barrel, following lower amount of exports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well as increased demand coming from the US and China.
  • Gold is trading 0.18% higher at US$2159 an ounce as investors await policy meetings from major central banks such as the RBA and the Bank of England.
  • And iron ore is trading 2.84% lower at US$102.50 cents a tonne as lower demand in China continues.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Chrysos Corporation (ASX:C79) and has a 12-month price target of $8.30. The buy rating is maintained by Bell Potter as it is believed their disruptive PhotonAssay technology will command a significant foothold within the large gold assaying markets with current lease agreements with some of the largest gold miners and international laboratory businesses providing good near-term deployment visibility.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Nick Scali (ASX:NCK), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $14.50 to the range of $18.20-$18.90, on a pattern formed over 30 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.