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Last night the Federal Budget was announced. There was a major focus on the cost of living and national security. Some of the positive news included cutting the fuel excise by 50%, in an effort to bring down petrol prices; low & middle income earners are to receive an additional $420 back on their tax returns; combining paid parental leave; a one-off payment of $250 to welfare recipients; and an expansion to the first home buyers scheme, with only a 5% deposit required to buy a house with no lenders mortgage insurance.

Ahead of the Federal Budget release yesterday, the local market reached an 11-week high. The rally touched all industry sectors, except the materials and energy sectors.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) was the biggest mover on the ASX200 yesterday, after its lead product received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. And Magellan Financial (ASX:MFG) rebounded 7%, after a large sell-off. Meanwhile Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) was down the most.

Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) was once again the most traded stock by Bell Direct clients. Yesterday the lithium developer announced it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Japanese trading company Hanwa Co, for offtake of 15,000 to 25,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate over 10 years, from one of its projects in Argentina, the Kachi Project. The lithium carbonate is to be priced at average quarterly benchmark market prices.

US equities extended its winning streak overnight, as traders followed ceasefire negotiations in Europe and key levels in the bond market. The Dow gained over 300 points, or 1%, the S&P500 closed 1.2% higher, while the tech heavy Nasdaq closed 1.8% higher.

What to watch today:

• The local market is set to rise 0.75%, going by the SPI futures.
• In commodities, the oil price is lower following negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
• Gold extended losses, nearing its lowest level in 4 weeks. And seaborne iron ore is slightly higher at US$150.14 a tonne.
• Around 15 stocks are set to go ex-dividend today. This often sees shares fall, as investors take their profits.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter have a Speculative Buy rating on Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) and have lowered their valuation from $3.75 to $2, implying 75.6% share price growth in a year.
• Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in Reliance Worldwide (ASX:RWC), indicating that the price may rise from the close of $4.30 to the range of $4.80 to $4.95, over 26 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.