Morning Bell 11 March

Our local market started the week retrieving earlier losses, gaining 0.18% yesterday, as energy, materials and utilities advanced. Polynovo (ASX:PNV) rebounded, leading the market up 4.6% at the close, while Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) closely followed. On the other hand, Johns Lyng Group (ASX:JLG) tumbled over 12% yesterday following the announcement that JP Morgan is now a substantial holder. Overnight, the 3- week market sell off in the US equities intensified as the key benchmarks continue to close in the red. The Dow Jones down nearly 900 points, the S&P500 down 2.7%, while the Nasdaq had its worst session since 2022, closing 4% lower. Investors are cautious amid fears that that uncertainty around tariff policy may tip the economy into a recession. 

What to watch locally today:

• Following US equities, the Australian market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures suggesting a drop of 0.88%.
• In commodities,
  • Crude Oil is down 1.7% trading at US$65.90, nearing a 6- month low. 
  • Gold is down 0.78% at US$2,889 an ounce but remained near record highs as trade tensions continued to shape market sentiment, with investors closely watching U.S. inflation data due later this week for insights into the Federal Reserve’s next moves.
  • While iron ore is up slightly, trading at US$101.29.
• And the Aussie dollar is buying US$0.63, 49 British pence, 92.43 Japanese Yen and NZ$1.10.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintain a BUY rating on AMA Group (ASX:AMA) after the accident repair group reported a good result for the first half of FY25 last month. AMA also reiterated its FY25 guidance. There is no change to Bell Potter’s price target of $0.08 which was updated last month following the release of the company’s financial results. The price target is a more than 50% premium  to the share price.
• And Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in ClearView Wealth (ASX:CVW) indicating that the stock price may rise from the close of $0.47 to the range of $0.55 - $0.57 over 7 days, according to the standard principles of technical analysis.