Morning Bell 26 August

Major averages closed in the red on Wall Street overnight to start their trading week. The Dow Jones declined 0.77%, the S&P500 fell 0.43% and the Nasdaq down 0.22%. US investors awaiting Nvidia’s earnings and the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge in the coming days.European markets were mostly lower. The German DAX down 0.37%, France’s CAC declined further down 1.56%, after the country’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou announced he will be seeking a confidence vote in parliament next month over the government’s budget plans. The FTSE100 however closed in the green up just 0.13%, while the STOXX600 was lower, down 0.44%.Locally yesterday, the ASX200 edged slightly higher at the close, ending the session with a 0.06% gain, as materials and energy stocks lead the market higher.What to watch today:Following US equities overnight, the Australian market is set to open lower, with the SPI futures suggesting at 0.21% drop at the open this morning.In economic news, the latest RBA meeting minutes will be released today, providing further insight into when the RBA slashed its cash rate by 25bps to 3.6% at its August meeting, matching market expectations and bringing borrowing costs to their lowest since April 2023.And as we near the end of reporting season, we still have a number of companies reporting their earnings results. Keep watch of the share price movements of Coles (ASX:COL), Fortescue (ASX:FMG), G8 Education (ASX:G8E) and Helloworld Travel (ASX:HLO), just to name a few.In commodities:Crude oil has advanced again, up 1.7% to US$64.74 per barrel the highest in nearly three weeks, extending a four-day rally as traders weighed geopolitical risks and monetary policy signals.Gold is 0.2% lower at US$3,365.02 an ounce following a more than 1% gain in the previous session, as the US dollar attempted to recover after a dovish shift by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.And iron ore is in the green at US$101.60 per tonne, rebounding from last week’s losses.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter maintains a Buy rating on Accent Group (ASX:AX1) and have lowered their price target to $1.80. At the current share price of $1.49, this implies 20.8% share price growth in a year.And Trading Central have identified a bearish signal in Westpac (ASX:WBC) indicating that the stock price may fall from the close of $38.29.