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The ASX200 is eyeing a lift of 0.7% at the open.

The Aussie manufacturing industry surprisingly returned to growth phase for the first time in 8 months, bolstered by production and new order demand.

Investors will be watching the balance of trade which is out today. Balance of trade is the difference between exports and imports. The market is pricing in that the surplus will swell to $9 billion in May, up from $8.8 billion in March. So keep an eye on Australia’s biggest exporters like BHP (ASX:BHP), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and CSL (ASX:CSL).

Local Trading ideas:

• Lendlease (ASX:LLC) looks like its turning a corner putting the weaker than expected 2020 profit behind it, which fell heavily short of market expectations. According to UBS, Lendlease’s balance sheet is ripe for a better financial year this year, but investors might have to be patient for the acceleration of its $100 billion+ development pipeline and earnings to come to fruition. UBS ramped up Lendlease’s to a buy with a price target of $15.50.
• Following fund manager Perpetual (ASX:PPT) snapping up Trillium, an Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) manager, catering for a growing market of investors who want to exclude investments such as fossil fuels from their portfolio, Bell Potter rose Perpetual (ASX:PPT) to a buy with a price target of $41.10.
• After Suncorp (ASX:SUN) announced an executive shake up, Bell Potter reiterated its buy for the QLD bank. Aside from that, 3% lower cash earnings across the horizon are expected, which is why Suncorp’s price target price dropped to $10.50.