The global economic landscape is a dynamic interplay of inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical events. As investors navigate this evolving environment, key economic indicators continue to shape market movements. From China’s struggling inflation to the United States’ resilient economy, this week’s economic data has offered a missed bag of signals. As we delve deeper into the details, it becomes evident that the path toward economic stability and growth is still fraught with uncertainties.

In this week’s wrap, Grady covers:

• (0:11): how economic indicators continue to drive market movements
• (0:46): why China’s economy faces challenges
• (2:58): what the United States’ economic resilience demonstrates
• (5:25): how the ASX200 performed this week so far
• (6:07): the most traded stocks & ETFs by Bell Direct clients
• (6:38): economic news items to look out for.

Wall St closed higher overnight as the S&P 500 records its fourth straight winning day up 0.75%. The Dow Jones rose 0.58% and the tech heavy Nasdaq rose by 1% as investors anticipate a rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

Over in Europe, markets closed in the green following a 25 basis point rate cut from the European Central Bank. The STOXX600 ended the trading session 0.78% higher with all major sectors closing positively. Germany’s DAX closed up over 1%, the French CAC jumped over half a percent and over in the UK the FTSE100 rallied 0.57%.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 closed 1.1% higher by market close will all major sectors ending Thursday’s trading session in the green. Gains were led by the information technology and energy sectors which climbed 2.44% and 2.32% respectively.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.56% at market open this morning.
• On the commodities front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 2.75% higher at 69 US dollars and 16 cents a barrel following disruptions from storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico which has led to the shutdown of around 670,000 barrels a day.
  • Gold is trading 1.87% higher at 2558 US dollars an ounce and iron ore rallied 1.12% to 92 US dollars and 30 cents a tonne.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Genusplus Group (ASX:GNP) and has an unchanged 12-month price target of $2.70. Bell Potter’s valuation implies a 18.4% share price growth of the current share price of $2.28, hence the buy rating is maintained.
• Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Lindsay Australia (ASX:LAU), indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $0.91 to the range of $0.98-$1, on a pattern formed over 23 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.

Overnight, Wall St closed higher as investors reacted to the latest US inflation data readings and what it could mean for the Federal Reserve policy. The Dow Jones gained 0.31%, the S&P 500 rose by 1.07% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended Wednesday’s trading session 2.17% higher.

In terms of US inflation data, core inflation year on year remained the same as its previous result and in line with the consensus of 3.2%. And the inflation rate year on year came in 0.2% below the forecast of 2.7% at 2.5%. Investors are now pricing in an 85% chance that the US central bank will approve a 25 basis point interest rate reduction in September, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch measure.

Over in Europe, markets ended Wednesday’s session mixed following the release of US inflation data. The STOXX600 closed 0.02% higher after a volatile day of trading with tech stocks gaining 1.21%, whilst industrials and household good stocks fell 0.4% each. Germany’s DAX gained 0.35%, the French CAC dropped 0.14% and over in the UK the FTSE100 lost 0.15% by market close.

Locally yesterday, the ASX200 fell 0.3% lower yesterday with the majority of stocks closing in the red. Losses were led by the financial and energy sectors which dropped 1.46% and 1.41% respectively. This was offset by the materials sector which rose by 1.67%.

What to watch today:

• The Australian share market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures suggesting a rise of 0.63% at market open this morning.
• On the commodity front this morning,
  • Oil is trading 2.41% higher at 67 US dollars and 33 cents a barrel after hitting a near three-year low in its previous session.
  • Gold is trading 0.29% lower at 2511 US dollars an ounce and iron ore is trading over half a percent lower at 91 US dollars and 28 cents a tonne.

Trading Idea:

• Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Adrad Holdings (ASX:AHL) and has an unchanged 12-month price target of $1.12. Bell Potter’s valuation implies a 48.3% share price growth of the current share price of $0.75, hence the buy rating is maintained.