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Yesterday Australian shares fell for the second straight trading session. The benchmark index was dragged down mostly by the major banks, real estate, and consumer staples, and the ASX200 closed 0.76% lower. Meanwhile, materials managed to close slightly higher.

PolyNovo’s (ASX:PNV) share price gained rose an impressive 25.2% yesterday to $1.79. They reported unaudited record US sales in December of $3.4 billion, which is a 76% increase on the same time the year prior.

The worst performer yesterday was ARB Corporation (ASX:ARB), down more than 12%, after reaching a 52-week high last week. This was after Credit Suisse downgraded its share price guidance on ARB from “neutral” to “underperform” with a $38 price target. Meanwhile, JP Morgan upgraded ARB to “underweight” yesterday, with a $35 price target. ARB closed yesterday at $46.32.

The most traded stocks by Bell Direct clients yesterday included Coles (ASX:COL), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), Afterpay (ASX:APT).

In the US, all three major benchmarks closed higher. The S&P500 up 0.9%, the Dow up 0.5% and the Nasdaq rallied for a second day, gaining 1.4%. Rising interest rates have put pressure on equities, however, interest rates cooled yesterday, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling below 1.75%.

Investors will be trading cautiously ahead of inflation updates in the US today and tomorrow, awaiting an indication of US interest rate hikes.

Following the positive session in New York, the SPI futures are suggesting the ASX200 will open 0.86% higher this morning.

What to watch today:

• Oil is trading over 3% higher at US$81 a barrel, boosted by short supply and a weaker dollar, as well as expectations that the impacts of Omicron on the economy will be short-term.
• Gold is also trading higher, above US$1,800 an ounce, as investors await the US inflation reading.
• The seaborne iron ore price is trading 1.4% lower US$124 a tonne.
• In economic news, retail sales data was released yesterday, which increased by 7.3% in November, from 4.9% the month prior. This exceeded market consensus of 3.9% and was the largest lift in 18 months. Balance of Trade data was also released. Australia’s trade surplus fell from $10.78 billion to $9.43 billion in November 2021. It was the smallest trade surplus since April, with the softening of global demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter maintain their BUY rating on BCI Minerals (ASX:BCI), and have lowered their price target from $0.71 to $0.66. The iron ore miner has completed a capital raising of up to $360 million, that represents the last piece of its $1.2 billion funding package for its Mardie Salt & Potash project. BCI closed yesterday at $0.42, implying 52% share price growth in a year.
• Trading Central has identified a bullish signal in Centaurus Metals (ASX:CTM) which indicates that the stock price may rise from the close of $1.27 to the range of $1.32 - $1.36, within 65 days.