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Stocks rallied in yesterday’s session, with energy and materials pulling the market higher. The ASX200 closed 0.6% higher amid strong commodity prices, including the price of iron ore, with hopes of additional stimulus from China, a top importer, now that China is seeing risks of an economic slowdown following its COVID-19 lockdowns. The big miners and energy stocks gained yesterday, rising higher with the increase in oil prices, as outages in Libya deepened concern over tight global supply. Financials were up 0.9%, with the major four banks all in the green. Gold stocks also aided sentiment, extending gains into a seventh session. The top performing stock yesterday was biotech company Imugene (ASX:IMU), followed by Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY), which hit a new 52-week high yesterday.

The most traded stocks by Bell Direct clients yesterday were the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ), Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG), Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) and BHP Group (ASX:BHP).

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday as investors’ attention was focused on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war. US equities closed higher, with all three major benchmarks in the green. The Dow closed 1.5% higher or up almost 500 points, the S&P500 rose 1.6%, and tech rallied with the Nasdaq closing 2.2% higher. However, this morning the Nasdaq futures for today have fallen, after Netflix shares dropped 25% in extended trading after disappointing results, reporting a loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter.

What to watch today:

• The Aussie share market is set to rise 0.62% at the open, according to the SPI futures.
• Keep watch of Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Beach Energy (ASX:BPT). Both companies will release their quarterly production reports today.
• Watch Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC), as the private hospital operator has received a takeover approach from private equity company KKR. It’s a non-binding offer of $88 per share to acquire the company, so this bid is at a 37% premium to where RHC shares last traded, and it values the company at over $20 billion.
• In commodities, oil has dropped overnight, trading almost 6% lower at around US$102 per barrel, ending a four-day winning streak, following concerns of falling demand despite the tight supply. So watch energy stocks today. The price of gold also dropped overnight, as a strong US dollar and soaring treasury yields have worried investors. So gold miners may come under pressure today, including stocks such as Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources. Meanwhile the iron ore price is flat.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintain its Buy rating on Life360 (ASX:360), a market leading app for families. Their price target remains unchanged at $10. 360 last closed at $5.37, implying 86.2% share price growth in a year.
• Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $12.26 to the range of $13.80 to $14.20, over 29 days, according to the standards principles of technical analysis.