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US equities had a positive run overnight, ahead of the US midterm elections, as well as key inflation data on deck over the next few days. Tonight, the midterm election will determine which party will control Congress, which currently, the House is controlled by Democrats. And on the economic front, investors are waiting on the consumer price index report out on Thursday. Stocks hit session highs in afternoon trade. The Dow Jones gained more than 400 points or 1.48%, the S&P500 gained 1.1% and the Nasdaq closed 1% higher.

In Europe the STOXX600 closed 0.3% higher, Germany’s DAX up 0.6%, the French CAC down 0.5% and in the UK the FTSE100 gained 0.9%.

What to watch today:

• Following the strong sessions in overseas markets, the Australian market is set to rise 0.6% at the open this morning, if you’re going by the SPI futures.
• Watch the share price movements of James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) and SSR Mining (ASX:SSR), as both companies are set to release a quarterly report today.
• AGMs today include Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), Inghams Group (ASX:ING), Sims (ASX:SGM), and Lottery Corporation (ASX:TLC).
• In commodities, oil is hovering at levels last seen in August, as investors weigh tight supply again a negative outlook for demand. The gold price has now steadied, following a 3% rally to 4-week highs in the previous session, after government officials backed rumours of China’s reopening. And iron ore has jumped 4.7% higher, rebounding from the three-year low of US$81.50 it hit on November 1st. Iron ore is now trading at US$89, amid hopes that China will transition away from its zero-COVID policy. So watch iron ore miners today like Champion Iron (ASX:CIA), BHP (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) or Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).
• In economic data, today at 10:30am AEDT, Westpac will release its data on consumer confidence for November and NAB will release its data on business confidence for October.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintain a buy rating on United Malt Group (ASX:UMG) and have lowered their price target to $3.90. At its current share price of $3.10, this implies 25.8% share price growth in a year.
• Bell Potter also maintain a buy rating on EROAD (ASX:ERD) and lowered their price target to $2.50. At its current share price of $1.20, this implies over 100% share price growth in a year.