BPO TV

Yesterday, the ASX200 posted its first gain for the week as Tech shares rallied.

In the US, all three benchmarks closed in the green, with the Dow rallying over 500 points, the S&P500 lifting 74 points and the Nasdaq up 250 points. Better-than-expected earnings reports were released from three major banks, as well as Walgreens and UnitedHealth. Also adding to the positive market sentiment was a lower-than-anticipated number of weekly jobless claims.

Following the broad rally on Wall Street, the recovery in megatechs and the advance of base metals, oil, and gold; the futures are suggesting the Aussie share market will open 0.64% higher this morning.

What to watch today:

• In economic data, yesterday, the unemployment rate worsened from 4.5% to 4.6%. This was better than the 4.7% forecast. A total of 138,000 lost their jobs, while monthly hours worked increased by 15 million hours.
• Today, keep watch of BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)  after its US listed shares jumped in line with commodities. BHP was up 3.9% and RIO gained 3.2%. RIO is also set to release its quarter report today.
• Companies going ex-dividend today include Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN) and Rhipe (ASX:RHP). While, Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) and BNPL stock Splitit (ASX:SPT) hold their AGMs today.
• The most traded stocks by Bell Direct clients yesterday, they included Strickland Metals (ASX:STK) which rose over 23% yesterday after the company discovered a high-grade zinc-lead at its Iroquois prospect in WA. Another most traded stock was a2Milk (ASX:A2M) which rose 4% yesterday. The catalyst behind A2M’s rise has been the release of one of its smaller rivals Bubs Australia’s (ASX:BUB) first quarter update.
• The oil price continues to trade at 7-year high territory, lifting 1% to US$81.49 a barrel. This comes after top oil producer Saudi Arabia dismissed calls for additional OPEC supply and the International Energy Agency stated that rising natural gas prices could boost demand for oil.
• The gold price also traded higher, rising to a one-month high. A dip in the US dollar and bond yields led to investors turning to bullion as an inflation hedge. The uranium price jumped above US$48 a pound, moving closer to its 9-year high hit last month. And the seaborne iron ore price traded slightly higher at $US122 a tonne.

Trading ideas:

• Bell Potter has initiated coverage on hardware company, Coventry Group (ASX:CYG) with a BUY recommendation on the stock and a $1.90 price target.
• Bullish charting signals have been identified in Ioneer (ASX:INR), IDT Australia (ASX:IDT) and Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS), according to Trading Central.