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US equities were mixed overnight with the Dow Jones closing 0.1% lower, marking its third straight negative day, while the S&P500 and the Nasdaq closed slightly up 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.  The Dow Jones was lower after Intel declined more than 8% off the back of the company posting operating losses in its semiconductor manufacturing business. And AI company Nvidia was in the red despite trading higher for most of the session on Wednesday, restricting gains for the market. Higher rates also weighed down on the market with data out yesterday showing private payrolls grew more than expected in March.

European markets were higher after euro zone inflation fell more than expected. The STOXX 600 closed 0.3% higher with most sectors in positive territory.

What to watch today:

• The Australian market is set to rise 0.33% at the open this morning.
• In commodities,
  • The price of oil is trading in the green after the latest Energy Information Administration data saw a surprise increase in US inventories.
  • Gold is rallying, surging toward $2,300 an ounce, extending its six-day rally as investors welcomed comments made by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who indicated that a lower policy interest rate would likely be appropriate “at some point this year”. Gold stocks to watch include Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM), Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL).
  • And iron ore is also in the green recovering the week’s earlier losses.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS), an Australian defense manufacturer specializing in advanced weapon and satellite tracking technology. EOS has successfully completed a $35 million fully underwritten placement, with the proceeds intended to fund future growth. Bell Potter has lowered their price target by 5% to $2.20 with upcoming potential catalysts for the stock including the next debt repayment scheduled for April, a first quarter update later this month  and the H1 results in September. At the current share price of $1.58, this price target implies 39.2% share price growth in a year.
• And Trading Central has a bearish signal on The Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR), indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $0.54 to the range of $0.37 to $0.41 over 31 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.