Morning Bell 1 August

Wall St closed mixed overnight as investors dropped some big name tech stocks before earnings reports are released. The Dow Jones gained half a percent, the S&P500 fell half a percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.28%.

Investors pulled out of some big-name tech stocks overnight including Nvidia which dropped 7%, while Microsoft fell nearly a percent. Other stocks to decline overnight include Amazon, Netiflix and Meta Platforms.

Early tomorrow morning, the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision will be announced which has a consensus and forecast to be maintained at its current rate of 5.5%

Over in Europe, markets closed higher as earnings seasons reports continue to be released. The STOXX600 rose 0.53% overnight with the majority of sectors closing Tuesday’s trading session in the green. Gains were led by construction and materials stocks which added 1.37%, whilst mining stocks fell 1.22%. Germany’s DAX rose 0.49%, the French CAC gained 0.42% and over in the UK, the FTSE100 fell 0.22% by the closing bell.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 closed 0.46% lower with most sectors closing in the red. Losses were led by the materials and information technology sectors which fell 1.93% and 0.9% respectively. This was slightly offset by the consumer discretionary sector which rose by 0.22% by the end of the trading session.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.37% at market open this morning.
• In terms of economic data today, CPI indicator data will be released at 11:30 this morning with a forecast of 3.9%, with its previous result having been at 4%.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  
  • Oil is trading 0.78% lower at US$75.22/barrel as demand lowers from top consumers such as China.
  • Gold is trading 1.25% higher at US$2410/ounce and iron ore is trading 0.25% lower at US$106.59/tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a speculative buy rating on RMA Global (ASX:RMY) and has a 12-month price target of $0.10. The buy rating is maintained by Bell Potter as the key driver for shareholder value in RMY remains the US market, where a decline in interest rates could potentially drive an uplift for house sales and as a result increase activity on RMY’s platform and subscriptions. The recommendation and valuation is based on penetrating the large US market which presents a significant opportunity, hence the speculative buy rating is maintained.
• And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Arena REIT (ASX:ARF), indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $3.77 to the range of $3.49-$3.55, on a pattern formed over 28 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.