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Wall St closed mostly higher again on Tuesday as soft inflation data and progress on the trade talk front continue to boost investor sentiment. The S&P500 rose 0.72%, the Nasdaq gained 1.61% and the Dow Jones fell 0.64% as United Health declined 17% to pressure the benchmark index. US CPI data for April came in at an increase of 2.3% on an annual basis which was lower than economists' were expecting and indicate the US inflation journey remains under control despite fears of tariffs boosting CPI.In Europe overnight, markets in the region closed slightly higher as uncertainty over global trade outlook remains positive amid China and the US agreeing to a temporary deal. The STOXX 600 rose 0.07%, Germany's DAX added 0.23% to close at another fresh record high, the French CAC gained 0.3%, and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day flat.Across the Asia region on Tuesday, markets closed mixed as investor outlook beyond the 90-day US China tariff deal remains uncertain. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.87%, China's CSI index rose 0.15%, India's Nifty 50 fell 1.27% and Japan's Nikkei ended the day down 1.43%.The local market hit an 11-week high yesterday, ending Tuesday's session up 0.43%, taking lead from the global market rally on Monday as investors welcomed the latest deal tariff between China and the US.With the outlook for lower tariffs on imports into the US from China and vice versa, investors regained appetite for risk and growth stocks, while investors sold out of safe-haven assets like the banks and gold.Mining giants recovered yesterday with the rising price of oil and iron ore fuelling investor appetite for BHP (ASX:BHP), Woodside (ASX:WDS), Rio (ASX:RIO) and Santos (ASX:STO).Location tracking tech giant Life 360 (ASX:360) soared over 10% yesterday after releasing record Q1 results including a 33% increase in total subscription revenue to US$81.9m, a 32% increase in total revenue to US$103.6m and positive operating cash flow of US$12.1m, up 13% YoY, and the company ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of US$170.4m. What to watch todayOn the commodities front this morning oil is trading 2.76% higher at US$63.66/barrel, gold is up 0.41% at US$3249/ounce and iron ore is up 1.22% at US$99.75/tonne.The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy 64.76 US cents, 95.50 Japanese Yen, 48.69 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 9 cents.Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.22%. Before the bell this morning CBA (ASX:CBA) released its Q3 trading update including cash profit for the quarter of $2.6bn which is flat on 1H25 quarterly average and up 6% on the PCP, while operating income rose 1% and operating expenses also rose 1%. Net interest income for the big bank rose 1% while the net interest margin was stable.Trading ideas:Bell Potter has increased the 12-month price target on JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) following the release of the company's Q3 trading update including sales up 6% on the PCP, while outlook for Q4 remains strong and the company remains as one of the most productive retailers globally.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on AMP (ASX:AMP) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 50-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $1.32 to the range of $1.56 to $1.62 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street started the new trading week significantly higher as investors welcomed the temporary progress in trade talks between China and the US. The Dow Jones rose 2.81%, the S&P500 climbed 3.26% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 4.35%. Shares in companies that rely on production and supply chain elements from China like Tesla, Apple and Nvidia had investors buying in on Monday with each rising over 5%.The latest update from the China and US trade talks is that both nations have agreed to cut their respective tariffs on one another for 90-days, with tariffs on Chinese imported goods into the US to be 30% and tariffs on US good into China to be 10% for the period.In Europe overnight, markets also closed higher in the region as global investors welcomed progress on the global trade front. The STOXX 600 rose 1.1%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.2% to another fresh record high, the French CAC added 1.4% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.6%.Across the APAC region on Monday, markets rallied after the US and China temporary trade deal was unveiled. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.98%, China's CSI index climbed 1.16%, India's Nifty 50 gained 3.5%, and Japan's Nikkei ended the day up 0.38%.Locally to start the week, the ASX200 posted a 0.03% rise to start the new trading week as weakness among pharmaceutical stocks weighed on strong gains for the big miners amid progress in talks between China and the US.Trump's latest pharmaceutical tariff announcement hit locally listed healthcare providers hard this week with Botanix, Neuren, Telix and Clarity all dropping over 5% on Monday. Trump's latest move in the healthcare space is that he wants to cut the price of prescription drugs which will in-turn hurt the margins made by any pharmaceutical producer selling their treatments in the US.As progress talks between the US and China continue to make headway, safe-haven stocks were on the chopping block yesterday as market uncertainty begins to ease. Gold stocks retreated with Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources and Genesis Minerals each fell over 3%.What to watch today:On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 1.61% higher at US$62/barrel, gold is down 2.65% at US$3236/ounce and iron ore is up 1.22% at US$99.75/tonne.The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback overnight to buy 63.70 US cents, 94.53 Japanese Yen, 48.57 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 9 cents.Ahead of Tuesday's trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 1.17% tracking global market strength overnight. Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on REA Group (ASX:REA) from $264 to $267 and maintain a buy rating on the leading online real estate platform following the release of the company's Q3 update including double-digit revenue growth, and strong yield growth which is set to continue amid the rate cut outlook.Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Technology One (ASX:TNE) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 25-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $31.62 to the range of $23.25 to $24.75 according to standard principles of technical analysis. 

Wall St had a negative end to the week last week as investors awaited clarity on US-China trade talks and the Fed held the US cash rate steady amid outlook for tariff implications sparking an inflationary rebound in the world's largest economy. The Dow Jones fell 0.3%, the S&P500 lost 0.07% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day flat.This morning, Trump has declared great progress after high-level trade talks began with China over the weekend, with the US president claiming the meeting as a ‘total reset' in the trade war which positions the markets for a strong start to the new trading week.In Europe on Friday, markets closed higher as investors hold high hopes of a positive outcome from the US and China's trade negotiations. The STOXX 600 rose 0.44%, Germany's DAX closed at a record high up 0.63%, the French CAC rose 0.64% and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.3%.Across the Asia region on Friday, markets closed mixed as investors digested the latest economic data out of China and awaited key trade talks between the US and China over the weekend. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.56% on Friday, China's CSI index fell 0.17%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.4% and South Korea's Kospi index ended the day up 0.09%.Locally to end the week, the ASX 200 ended the week with a positive session on Friday as the key index rose 0.48% boosted by a strong tech and financial rally, but for the week the ASX 200 posted a slight decline of 0.08%. Healthcare stocks took the biggest hit over the last 5-trading days as investors fled the sector over concerns of Trump's pharmaceuticals tariffs set to be rolled out over the coming weeks.Liontown Resources soared 195 on Friday after the lithium producer released 2-key trading updates this week that were well received by investors, despite the spot price of lithium carbonate sinking to a four-year low this week.And Chrysos Corporation soared almost 18% on Friday after signing an agreement with gold production giant Newmont Corporation that will see Chrysos' PhotonAssay technology used for Newmont's gold mining projects.What to watch today:On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.67% higher at US$61.43/barrel, gold is down 1.3% at US$3282/ounce and iron ore is up 0.33% at US$98.55/tonne.The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.29 US cents, 93.79 Japanese Yen, 48.57 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 9 cents.Ahead of the first trading session of the new week, the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.19% amid positive sentiment from progress on the global trade war front.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has increased the rating on Catalyst Metals from a hold to a buy and have raised the 12-month price target on the gold producer following the acquisition of the Old Highway gold project for $32.5m cash from Sandfire Resources. With 2.1 million tonnes at 3g/t containing 206koz gold, and a higher-grade underground component, the project adds significant upside to Catalysts' portfolio and value.Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Super Retail Group following the formation of a pattern over a period of 45-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $14.14 to the range of $15.10 to $15.40 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall St continued its sell-off as investors await further clarity on the global trade and tariff front. The Dow Jones fell 0.95%, the S&P500 lost 0.77% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 0.87%. Tesla shares came off 1.8% on Tuesday after the company's new car sales in Britain and Germany fell to their lowest in more than two years last month despite growing consumer demand for electric vehicles.In Europe overnight, markets in the region closed mostly lower as investors continue to monitor corporate earnings results and uncertainty around the US trade outlook. The STOXX 600 fell 0.18%, Germany's DAX lost 0.4%, the French CAC fell 0.4% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up just 0.01%.Across Asia on Tuesday, markets closed mixed as investors in the region continue to assess the unfolding trade situation between the US and key trade partners like China. China's CSI index rose 1.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7%, India's Nifty 50 fell 0.3%, and Japan's Nikkei was closed for a public holiday.The local market started the new trading week with a sell-off that ended a 7-day winning streak for the ASX200 after key trading updates and uncertainty around tariffs and trade deals weighed on investor sentiment. On Tuesday the key index ended the day down 0.1% as healthcare and the banking stocks weighed on the key index.An increasing amount of locally listed companies have been updating the market with tariff implication expectations and unclear outlook notes that have increased investor panic in recent days. Wisetech Global (ASX:WTC) fell over 2.5% after warning of potential demand risks from tariffs as the latest company to report uncertain outlook.Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) bucked the volatility yesterday with a rise of 9% after the gaming and wagering company announced the wagering market remains strong with a modest improvement to the turnover trend in the wagering market, indicating consumer demand remains strong despite broader volatility.What to watch today:On the commodities front this morning oil has rebounded to trade 3.3% higher at US$59/barrel, gold is up 2.46% at US$3416/ounce and iron ore is down 0.8% at US$97.41/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.94 US cents, 92.51 Japanese Yen, 48.33 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 0.38% tracking Wall Street's losses overnight.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has downgraded the rating on Platinum Asset Management (ASX:PTM) from a hold to a sell after the funds manager released April's results including FUM falling $629m or 6.1% to $9.647bn.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Lovisa (ASX:LOV) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 21-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $24.85 to the range of $19 - $20 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall St ended the last trading week on a high after better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data for April eased recession fears and lifted the S&P500 to its longest winning streak in over 2-decades. The S&P500 gained 1.5% on Friday, the Dow Jones rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 1.51%. Payrolls in the US grew by 177,000 in April, well above the 133,000 economists were expecting in a sign the labour market remains strong despite recession fears amid the Trump tariff turmoil.Across the European region on Friday, markets closed higher on better-than-expected economic data and on trade war de-escalation between China and the US. The STOXX 600 rose 1.7%, Germany's DAX added 2.62%, France's CAC rose 2.33% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 1.17%.Asia markets ended the week in the green as trade talks between China and the US continue to make progress. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.74%, India's Nifty 50 rose 0.21%, Japan's Nikkei added 1.04%, and South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day up 0.12%.Locally on Friday, the ASX200 ended the week on a high a gain of 1.1% boosted by strength among tech stocks following a strong night for the Nasdaq on Thursday night despite gloomy earnings out of Amazon, Block and Apple.Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) tumbled 9.2% on Friday after saying it expects to report lower revenue and earnings growth due to the initial impact of tariffs on client demand, while Block sank 25.9% after the digital payments provider lowered its full year guidance. What to watch today:On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 3.6% lower at US$56.24/barrel, gold is up 0.14% at US$3244/ounce and iron ore is down 1.07% at US$98.19/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.53 US cents, 93.38 Japanese Yen, 48.56 British Pence, and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of Monday's trading session, the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.4% to extend on last week's gains.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on Woolworths Group (ASX:WOW) from $30.75 to $31.85 and maintain a hold rating on the supermarket giant following the release of the company's Q3 results including 3.2% YoY sales growth on a group level, while Australian food revenues rose 3.6% and Australian B2B business revenues rose 6.4%. NZ food sales rose just 1.8% YoY and W Living sales fell 2.6% YoY. The reason for the maintenance of the hold rating is that Woolworths is currently trading on a multiple consistent to Coles and the analyst feels it is difficult to see the catalyst to return the rating to a premium compared to Coles at present.And Bell Potter has reduced the rating on SGH (ASX:SGH) from a buy to a hold and have reduced the 12-month price target on the company from $57 to $54.50 following a mixed outlook in the company's operating divisions. While equipment orders are lifting, aggregate prices are falling and the construction market remains flat in recent months. Trading on a 20.3x FY26 PE, the analyst believes SGH is currently fairly valued.

Wall St started the new trading week lower, with the S&P500 snapping a 9-day winning streak as investors continue to monitor the latest global trade developments. The S&P500 fell 0.64%, the Nasdaq lost 0.74% and the Dow Jones ended the day down 0.24%. Sentiment slightly rose after a report outlined that India has proposed zero tariffs on steel, auto components and pharmaceuticals, while investors still remain cautious about the timeline and exact scope of tariff agreements between the US and key trade partners.In Europe overnight markets in the region closed mixed as investors look ahead to key economic data out in the region. The STOXX 600 rose 0.16%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.1%, the French CAC fell 0.55% and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 was closed for a holiday.Across the Asia region on Monday, markets rose after China said it was evaluating possible trade talks with the US as the ongoing tariff war continues to unfold. China's markets were closed for a public holiday while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.74%, Japan's Nikkei added 1.04%, India's Nifty 50 climbed 0.21% and South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day up 0.12%.Locally to start the new week, the ASX200 fell 1% to snap a 7-day winning streak as weaker-than-expected results out of Westpac weighed on the financial sector and dented overall investor sentiment.Westpac (ASX:WBC) kicked off the results release for the big banks with first half profit sliding 1% on 1H24 amid rising geopolitical risks and a highly competitive mortgage market. The bank's net interest margin, where most of profits are made, also fell 1bps to 1.88%. On release of the results WBC shares fell over 2% while all big bank stocks also retreated on Monday.Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) climbed almost 10% on Monday after coming out of a trading halt and addressing speculation it had received a takeover and entered into a takeover offer with Gruyere Holdings to acquire 100% of issued and outstanding shares in Gold Road by way of a scheme of arrangement valuing Gold Road at around $3.7bn. What to watch today: On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 1.88% lower at US$57.19/barrel, gold is up 2.87% at US$3332/ounce and iron ore is down 0.8% at US$97.41/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy 64.66 US cents, 92.94 Japanese Yen, 48.76 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of Tuesday's trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 0.26% extending on yesterday's losses. Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has reduced the 12-month price target on Chrysos Corporation (ASX:C79) from $4.70 to $4.40 and maintain a hold rating on the global mining assay service provider following the release of the company's May 2025 trading update including revenue beating BPe for the latest quarter, and 5 units being deployed with revenues expected to start generating from these units by the end of FY25. The slight downgrade of the price target is due to recent contract wins outpacing deployment and revenue tracking at the lower end of the guidance range.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 22-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $142.03 to the range of $156 to $160 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall St closed mixed on Wednesday following the release of US GDP data for Q1 that indicated economic contraction of 0.3% QoQ which is well below the 2.4% expansion reported in Q4 and below economists' expectations of a 0.5% rise in GDP for the latest reading. The slide in GDP enhanced investor fears of a US recession which impacted equities on Wednesday. The Dow Jones rose 0.35%, and the S&P500 gained 0.15% but the Nasdaq ended the day down 0.09%. Consumer confidence, JOLTs Job Openings and the personal spending index all in the US were also released for the latest period overnight with each coming in poorer than economists' were expecting.European markets closed higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to worse-than-expected economic data out of the US. The STOXX 600 rose 0.46%, Germany's DAX gained 0.32%, the French CAC added 0.32% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.37%Asia Markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors digested an array of key economic data out in the region and ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate meeting kicking off. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.57%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.51%, and China's CSI index fell 0.12% after China's manufacturing activity dropped more than expected in April to enter contraction territory.Locally on Wednesday, the ASX extended its rally into the midweek session with a gain of 0.7% taking lead from Wall Street's strength on Tuesday. Real estate stocks led the gains on Wednesday while other rate sensitive sectors like Tech and consumer discretionary stocks posted notable gains.Australia's latest inflation reading for the March Quarter was released yesterday with monthly inflation rising 0.9% while the annual rate remained at 2.4%. Trimmed mean inflation fell to 2.8% in the quarter which is now back within the RBA's target 2-3% range. Markets are expecting a 62% chance of a rate cut to be announced at the next RBA meeting in May prior to the CPI reading release yesterday.Gold producer Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) extended its sell-off yesterday after the gold giant lowered its output guidance for FY25, while Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) also tumbled over 6% after also lowering full-year production guidance.What to watch today:Ahead of Thursday's trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the first session of the new trading month down 0.34% following Wall Street's turbulence overnight.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 3.42% lower at US$58.35/barrel, gold is down 1.13% at US$3279/ounce and iron ore is down 0.1% at US$99.76/tonne.The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy 64.08 US cents, 91.62 Japanese Yen, 47.61 British Pence and NZ$1.08.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has downgraded the rating on Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) from a buy to a hold and have raised the 12-month price target to $4.57 on the gold producer following the release of the company's March quarter report which beat BPe on production and costs. The downgrade to a hold is simply due to recent share price appreciation.Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Autosports Group (ASX:ASG) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 97-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $1.94 to the range of $2.11 to $2.17 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

The recent rally on Wall St extended into Tuesday's session as investor optimism was boosted by the White House saying a major trade deal is close to being announced. The S&P500 rose 0.58% to notch a 6th straight winning session, while the Dow Jones rallied 0.75% to also post a 6th straight winning day, and the Nasdaq ended the day up 0.55%.In Europe overnight, it was a sea of green as investors responded to corporate results out in the region including Lufthansa posting a revenue beat, Deutsche Bank reporting a 39% rise in first-quarter profit and HSBC topping profit expectations. The STOXX 600 rose 0.4%, Germany's DAX added 0.1%, the French CAC gained 0.8% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.6%.Across the Asia region on Tuesday, markets closed mixed as investors assessed corporate earnings results and Trump's move to reduce automotive tariffs. China's CSI index ended down 0.17%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.16% and South Korea's Kospi index ended the day with a gain of 0.65%.The local market started the new trading week in positive territory with the ASX200 hitting a 2-month high to end Tuesday's session up 0.9%. Trump's tariff concerns remain in the background of investor concerns right now but are being overlooked ahead of the all-important local inflation reading out today and ahead of the RBA's anticipated rate cut to come in May. Yesterday we had further clarity out of the US that negotiation talks on tariffs between China and the US are progressing and Trump reduced the tariff he recently imposed on automotive sales.The recent uranium stock rally extended yesterday as the price of the commodity rose 0.6% to US$67/pound, but more of the gains can be explained by Boss Energy's (ASX:BOE) driving force after the uranium producer reported its first quarter of free cash flow generation and that output and costs had met or beat expectations. Boss Energy rose over 14% on Tuesday, Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) gained 11.71%% and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) ended the day up 8.5%.Elsewhere in the mining space, Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) surged over 12% on Tuesday despite releasing a quarterly update including iron ore output guidance slashed again and the company burnt through $300m of cash in the quarter.What to watch todayOn the commodities front:Oil is down 2.64% at US$60.41/barrel, gold is down 0.6% at US$3317.80/ounce and iron ore is flat at US$99.91/tonne.The Aussie dollar is buying 63.86 US cents, 90.90 Japanese Yen, 47.86 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.35% tracking global market gains overnight.Also today we will receive the latest March quarter inflation reading with the market forecasting an uptick of 0.8% in the reading, which will indicate inflation continues to ease and provides the RBA with further support for a rate cut at the next meeting in May.Trading IdeasBell Potter has downgraded the rating on Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) from a buy to a hold and have raised the 12-month price target on the gold production and development company following the release of the company's Q3 results including total gold production of 24.3koz at AISC of A$2765/ounce. With growth on the horizon, the downgrade to a hold is simply on the grounds of current valuation of the company being within the Bell Potter hold criteria.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Perenti (ASX:PRN)following the formation of a pattern over a period of 40-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $1.38 to the range of $1.58 to $1.62 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall St closed higher on Friday as investors continue to navigate the evolving situation on a global trade front while the big tech names got a welcome boost following a sell-off in recent times. The S&P500 rose 0.74% on Friday for a fourth straight winning session while the Nasdaq gained 1.26% and the Dow Jones ended the day up 0.05%.Over in Europe on Friday, markets closed higher as earnings reports out in the region were well-received by investors despite ongoing trade uncertainty. The STOXX 600 rose 0.35%, Germany's DAX added 0.8%, the French CAC added 0.45%, and in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.1%.Across the Asia region to end the week markets closed mostly higher as investors continue to assess the possibility of easing trade war tensions between China and the US. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.24%, China's CSI index closed flat, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.9% and South Korea's Kospi index ended the day up 0.95%.Locally on Thursday the ASX200 rose 0.6% to end the holiday shortened trading week up 2.3% as investor optimism around a rate cut out of the RBA in May boosted investor sentiment. While Trump's tariff moves continue to weigh on investor sentiment, we are seeing certain companies rally from exemptions like ResMed (ASX:RMD) soaring 8.5% on Thursday after revealing its sleep apnoea devices have received an exemption from Trump's tariffs. Uranium miners also rallied on Thursday with Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) jumping 12% after announcing record production at its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia.What to watch todayAhead of Monday's trading session in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day just 0.02% higher.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 0.71% higher at US$63.44/barrel, gold is down 0.26% at US$3311/ounce and iron ore is down 0.06% at US$99.92/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy US$0.64, 91.93 Japanese Yen, 48.10 British Pence and NZ$1.07.Trading IdeasBell Potter has slightly reduced the 12-month price target on Seek (ASX:SEK) from $27.00 to $25.80 and maintain a buy rating on Australia's leading online jobs advertisement platform following a mixed month of jobs report for March. For the month, Seek's employment report for Australia outlined an accelerating decline for job ads, down 12.8% YoY on platform and the ABS' internet job ad vacancy index also worsened for March, down 16.3%. Despite the weakness in the ABS data, Seek is significantly outperforming ABS data.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Autosports Group (ASX:ASG) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 55-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $1.83 to the range of $2.00 to $2.06 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell's commentary today led to deeper selling in equities, something Charles Schwab's Jeffrey Kleintop considers "interesting" with the lack of movement in treasuries. He urges investors to watch international markets in the trading sessions ahead, noting movement in the Euro and Japanese Yen.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Wall St closed modestly lower on Tuesday as investors shifted focus from tariffs to first quarter earnings results. The Dow Jones lost 0.38%, the S&P500 fell 0.17% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 0.05%. Bank of America rose 3.6% yesterday after exceeding analysts' expectations for Q1 results, while Untied Airlines and Netflix are also expected to report this week. Boeing shares fell more than 2% though on Tuesday on reports that Beijing ordered Chinese airlines not to take anymore of the company's planes.In Europe overnight, markets in the region rose amid investor optimism of further tariff exemptions to come from the White House. The STOXX 600 rose 1.6%, Germany's DAX added 1.3%, the French CAC gained 0.9% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 1.5%.Across the Asia region on Tuesday, markets mostly rose in the region as a tech rally boosted investor sentiment. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.84%, South Korea's Kospi Index gained 0.88%, India's Nifty 50 rose 2.18% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the day up 0.23%.The local market rallied for a second session on Tuesday with a gain of 0.17% after a day of relative calm with minimal news on the tariff front out of the White House. Investors increasingly sought out defensive stocks on Tuesday with CSL and CBA rising 2.56% and 0.87% respectively.The high growth tech sector came under pressure on Tuesday despite strength on the Nasdaq on Monday and Trump's exemption of key tech tariffs. KFC Australia operator Collins Food Group fell over 7.7% on Tuesday after announcing the results of its strategic review including the exiting of its Taco Bell operations in Australia and further expansion of KFC into Germany.Accent Group on the other hand rallied over 4.5% after announcing it will launch and operate leading global sports retailing business, Sports Direct to Australia and New Zealand. The leading Australian retailer also announced a long-term strategic relationship with Frasers Group, a global retailer of sports, premium and luxury brands based in London, with Frasers also increasing its stake in Accent Group to 19.57%.What to watch today:The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy 63.48 US cents, 90.82 Japanese Yen, 48.08 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.33% lower at US$61.32/barrel, gold is up 0.5% at US$3227.51/ounce and iron ore is up 0.13% at US$100.08/tonne. Ahead of the midweek trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down just 0.04% Trading Idea.s:Bell Potter has downgraded the rating on Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) from a buy to a hold and have raised the 12-month price target on the gold and copper miner from $7.89 to $8.10 following the release of the company's March quarter report which came in strong as Bell Potter was expecting. The downgrade to a hold simply follows recent share price appreciation.Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Universal Stores (ASX:UNI) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 38-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $7.46 to the range of $10.10 to $10.70 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street ended the rollercoaster week of last week in the green on Friday after possibly the most volatile week in NYSE history as investors responded live to Trumps tariff updates as they were announced. The Dow Jones rose 1.56%, the S&P500 rose 1.81% and the Nasdaq ended the last trading session of the week up 2.06%. The rise in investor optimism on Friday was due to the White House remaining optimistic a deal on tariffs would be done with China. Let's hope for some more clarity and calm on global markets this week.In Europe on Friday markets in the region closed mostly lower to round off a choppy week for stocks in the Eurozone. The STOXX 600 fell 0.1%, Germany's DAX fell 0.9%, the French CAC dropped 0.3%, and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.64%.Across the Asia region on Friday markets closed mixed as investors assessed escalating trade wars with the US. Japan's Nikkei lost almost 3%, South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.5%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.13% and China's CSI index ended the day up 0.41%.Locally on Friday the ASX200 fell 0.82% with every sector aside from consumer discretionary stocks ending the day in the red, with healthcare taking the biggest hit amid Trump's latest tariff announcement on producers in the sector. For the week, the ASX200 lost just 0.28% despite the extreme highs and lows of the trading week.What to watch today:Gold miners rallied last week as the price of the precious commodity topped US$3200/ounce for the first time later in the week.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 2.38% higher at US$61.50/barrel, gold is up 1.5% at US$3236.55/ounce and iron ore is up just 0.06% at US$99.95/tonne.The Aussie dollar has slightly improved against most currencies to buy 62.86 US cents, 90.64 Japanese Yen, 49.03 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of Monday's trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.23%.This week will be interesting on the tariffs front as we ended last week with Trump raising total tariffs on China to 145% but backtracked on electronics and certain imports that support large caps like Apple.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has downgraded the rating on Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) from a hold to a sell as the analyst believes valuation has been overextended and the current share price prices in optimistic expectations. The analyst still believes Lynas is a high-quality business with viable growth options and a strong management team.Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Waypoint REIT (ASX:WPR) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 90-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price will rise from the close of $2.50 to the range of $2.65 to $2.69 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street started the new trading week in the green as investors welcomed the latest tariff exemption from Trump in the form of smartphones and computers in addition to other devices and components like semiconductors. The Dow Jones rose 0.78% on Monday, the S&P500 gained 0.79% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 0.64%. While the tariff exemption is welcome right now, Trump teased on Sunday that the exemptions are not permanent, i.e. the Trump tariff rollercoaster continues.In Europe on Monday, markets closed higher as Trump exemptions boosted investor sentiment, temporarily. The STOXX 600 rose 2.7%, Germany's DAX gained 2.6%, the French CAC added 2.4% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 2.4%.Across Asia to start the week, markets in the region rallied as investor appetite for growth and tech stocks rose on Trump's latest exemption announcement. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.4%, China's CSI index added 0.23%, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.18%, and South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day up 0.95%.Locally on Monday, the ASX200 started the new trading week with a significant rise of 1.3% as investors hold high hopes tariff relief after President Trump began scaling back some tariffs in recent days. Mining stocks regained momentum yesterday with the materials sector rising %, while 10 of the 11 sectors ended the day in the green.Neuren Pharmaceuticals soared 21% yesterday after the drug maker announced the US FDA has approved the outcomes of a key trial of the company's second drug candidate for the treatment of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome in Children, which paves the way for the company's final US FDA approval of the drug before it hits the market.Gold miners are again drawing investor attention as the price of the precious commodity rallied to yet another fresh record high on Monday and UBS lifted its gold price forecast for the second time in a week, this time to an average of US$3500/ounce in 2026.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.18% higher at US$61.61/barrel, gold is down 0.74% at US$3212.46/ounce and iron ore is up just 0.06% at US$99.95/tonne.What to watch today:The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy 63.24 US cents, 90.50 Japanese Yen, 48.11 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 8 cents.Ahead of Tuesday's trading session here in Australia, the SPI Futures are anticipating the local market will open the day up 0.23% tracking global market gains overnight.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) from $1.97 to $2.58 and maintain a hold rating on the gold exploration and development company after Gold Road Resources announced its intention to vote in favour of the proposed all-scrip acquisition of DEG by Northern Star, as Gold Road Resources has an approximate 17.3% stake in DEG.Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on SRG Global (ASX:SRG) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 21-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $1.25 to the range of $1.38 to $1.42 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Marc Chandler, Managing Partner at Bannockburn Global Forex and Editor of the Marc to Market website, joins us to unpack another turbulent week in the markets, key moves in the currencies, global trade tensions between the US and China, and gold continuing to break out to new all-time highs as the global safe haven.   US equities started off the week plunging further with volatility is surging, and traditional safe havens like the US dollar and bonds were being sold down as capital flees US assets.  We discuss the margin calls of the last two weeks being a factor as to why gold was initially sold last week as a source of funds, and how many net-long speculators may have gotten wrong-footed and needed to sell both equities and bonds.   In a related currency trade, as many positions got unwound, and converted back into the currencies borrowed as carry trades -- the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc, that money coming into them gave them appearance of being safe haven currencies.  Marc outlines that it really was more a market narrative being applied to those trades being unwound.    He goes on further to address other market narratives like those blaming China for crashing the bond markets and selling treasuries in retaliation to the trade tariffs, but without any factual evidence of this being the case. Marc responded that, “Maybe it is true, but where is the evidence?”  He points out that if China was selling down their US treasuries in a big way, that it would be self-defeating, because they are going to get lower yields everywhere else. Instead, China has been focusing more on retaliating with reciprocal tariffs and export restrictions on key commodities like rare earths, antimony, and tungsten.   We then transitioned over to gold's move to all-time highs in all global fiat currencies, and if it was getting too overbought.  Marc's take was that if we were in normal times, then sure it is getting overbought, and is well above the Bollinger bands; however, these are not normal times and there is so much uncertainty that it is keeping investors positioned in the precious metals.   Wrapping up we pondered if economic data reports even matter in a meaningful way in this type of environment.  Marc outlines that most of the economic data we've received is “too old” and lagging the real time effects of these rapidly changing conditions.  He points to the consumer confidence surveys, inflation expectations, and jobs numbers as not truly capturing how the markets are reacting in the present moment.   Click here to visit Marc's site – Marc To Market. 

Wednesday, 9 April 2025, saw the U.S. impose a 104% tariff on China. Beijing retaliated and raised its levy on U.S. imports to 84%. Will this tit for tat erode globalisation, or had the world trade model started unravelling years before Trump took office the first time round? Financial economist Victor Hill talks to Sarah Lowther about the end-of-life psychology driving Donald Trump's executive orders and how equities aren't in the dire straits some commentators would have investors believe. Victor compares Trump's actions to the Nixon Shock of 1971 and argues that while tariffs could generate significant revenue, they could also lead to increased inflation and a potential recession. As usual there's a silver lining and threads of optimism as Victor concludes that despite market volatility, long-term US Treasury yields and safe-haven assets like gold and the Japanese Yen are showing resilience. For more investment and economics analysis plus inspiration please visit our website masterinvestor.co.uk.

Market movements are up and down this week. Yesterday our local market closed 1.8% in the red, with energy and materials down the most. Champion Iron (ASX:CIA), Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) took the biggest hit down 12% to 14% in a single session. Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on the 'reciprocal' tariffs his administration had applied to roughly 60 countries.That means many countries will have their tariffs reduced to a universal rate of 10%, except for China, which will have its tariff increased to 125%. It comes after the U.S. increased tariffs on China to 104% yesterday, which a Chinese Government spokesperson called "economic bullying".Australia's tariff was always at the 10% rate (which was the minimum rate imposed), so this means there has been no change for us.Trump said the 90-day pause would allow "more than 75 countries" that had started negotiations with the White House, seeking to reduce its tariffs, to reach a deal.The announcement of a pause led to a record-breaking day on the U.S. stock market. The Dow Jones closed 7.87% higher, the S&P500 up a record 9.52%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 12.16%. It was a historic surge on Wall Street, with the S&P500 seeing its third- largest gain in a singe day since World War II. During the trading session, we saw surprising trading volume of approximately 30 billion shares, the highest level in history, as per records which date back 18 years ago. What to watch today:Locally today, the SPI futures are 6.62% higher, after heavy buying in New York. The de-escalation in trade tensions helped restore confidence across community markets:Crude Oil has advanced 5.86% to US$63.07 per barrelNatural gas is up 7.75% Gold us up 3.58% to $3,084.62, as the US – China tensioned fueled the safe- haven demand While iron ore is down 2%, trading at US$99.25. And one Australian dollar is buying US$0.62, 90.64 Japanese Yen, $0.48 British Pence and a NZ$1.09. Trading Ideas:Bell Potter have upgraded their recommendation from JB Hi- Fi (ASX:JBH) from a Hold to a Buy and have maintained their price target of $99.00. at JBH's current share price of $88.91, this implies 11.3% share price growth in a year. Trading Central have identified a bullish signal in the ASX's share price, indicating the stock price may rise today from it's close of $66.21. 

Wall Street started the new trading week mostly in the red as investors piled out of equities for a third straight session after President Trump threatened even higher tariffs against China on Monday. Trading volume hit the highest level in 18 years yesterday with markets trading around 29 billion shares. The Dow Jones fell 0.91% on Monday, the S&P500 shed 0.23% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 0.1%.In Europe overnight, markets in the region started the new trading week lower as investors continue to fear the global fall out of Trump's Tariffs and implications on economic activity in the Eurozone. The STOXX 600 tumbled 4.54%, Germany's DAX lost 4.26%, the French CAC plummeted 4.8%, and in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down 4.4%.Asia markets started the week with another sea of red as global trade war fears escalate following China's reciprocal tariff announcement on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted 13.22%, China's CSI index fell 7.05%, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 7.83% and South Korea's Kospi index ended the day down 5.57%.Locally on Monday, the ASX200 tanked over 4% to post the biggest loss in 5-years after China retaliated with tariffs on US goods, escalating the global trade war and tensions on a global scale.Abacus Storage King was among the only winners on Monday with a rally over 20% after its majority investor Ki Corporation and NYSE-listed Public Storage lobbed a proposal to buy the remaining stake for $1.47 a share.Market heavyweights tanked yesterday, with CBA diving over 6%, so too did BHP and other miners as the price of iron ore slumped on global trade and demand concerns.What to watch today:Ahead of Tuesday's trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.75% to recover some of the heavy losses experienced in recent days.On the commodities front this morning, the sea of red continues with oil trading 1.12% lower at US$61.29/barrel, gold is down 1.65% at US$2987/ounce and iron ore is down 1.5% at US$102.64/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further weakened against the USD overnight to buy US$0.59, 88.67 Japanese Yen, 47.08 British Pence and NZ$1.08.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has initiated coverage of Trajan Group (ASX:TRJ) with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $1.50 on the global developer of scientific measurement devices as the analyst sees the company is returning to growth. The analyst sees Trajan Group as offering deep value given it is trading at a 47% discount to close peer Tecan and a 60^ discount to major US peers.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on EBR Systems (ASX:EBR) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 52-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $1.39 to the range of 75 to 85cps according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall St was smashed again on Friday as investors fled equities amid concerns over Trump's latest tariff implications on the US economy. The Dow Jones tumbled 5.5%, the S&P500 lost 5.97% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5.8%. China's commerce ministry said on Friday that it will impose a 34% levy on all US products without negotiation with President Trump, while tech and other stocks with exposure to China also tumbled as investors brace for impact on such company's sales, financials and growth outlook.In Europe on Friday, markets in the region closed sharply lower as investors digested Trump's liberation day tariffs and after China retaliated with tariffs on the US. The STOXX 600 fell 5%, Germany's DAX fell 4.7%, the French CAC lost 4.3% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down just shy of 5%.Across the Asia region to end the week, markets closed lower as the global tariff sell-off extended into the region. China's CSI index fell 0.59%, Japan's Nikkei tumbled over 4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.52% and South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day down 0.76%.The local market tumbled 2.4% on Friday erasing 57b$ from the ASX200 after global markets reacted to Trump's liberation day tariff handouts that were larger and broader than expected.Our market followed the US free-fall on Thursday that saw the Nasdaq tumble 6%, the S&P 500 drop 4.84% and the Dow Jones decline 4%.Stocks with exposure to the US market were heavily sold off as investors fled exposure to cost hikes faced by such companies under the new 10% blanket tariff on all Aussie exports bound for the US.In the wake of global uncertainty, investors are increasingly dumping growth stocks in favour of supermarkets given their defensive nature, lack of exposure to the US and guaranteed earnings no matter the time of economic cycle.Breville Group has been hit hard by the US tariff imposition with the company falling over 11% on Friday and over 6% on Thursday as the company manufactures in China and attributes a large portion of revenues to the US market. Breville has already started moving production out of China, however, will need to assess pricing and strategize to overcome the tariff implications.Growth stocks associated with the AI revolution were also heavily sold off on Friday with NextDC falling over 6% while geolocation tracking app with a high presence in the US, Life 360, fell over 8%.What to watch today:Ahead of Monday's trading session to start the new trading week, the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 4.3% tracking the global sell-off on Friday.On the commodities front this morning it is a sea of red across the commodities space with oil down 3.14% at US$60/barrel, gold is down 0.57% at US$3020/ounce and iron ore is down 1.5% at US$102.64/tonne.The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback over the weekend to buy US$60.02, 87.07 Japanese Yen, 46.77 British Pence and NZ$1.08.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has downgraded the rating on Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) from a buy to a hold and have lowered the 12-month price target on the gold producer from $2 to $1.30 per share after Q3 production missed guidance by 30%.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Generation Development Group (ASX:GDG) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 53-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $4.36 to the range of $3.40 to $3.70 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street closed Tuesday's session higher in yet another volatile session as traders took advantage of market uncertainty ahead of Trump's tariff handouts on April 2nd US time, and on the back of weaker-than-expected economic data weighing on investor sentiment. The S&P500 rose 0.38%, the Dow Jones added 0.03% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 0.87%. Investor sentiment was also hit by the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing survey coming in lighter than expected and in contraction territory for February, while February's job openings were also slightly below estimates in signs the economy is slowing due to tariff implications on US economic stability.In Europe overnight, markets reversed Monday's losses to close higher as eurozone inflation data for March showed inflation in the region cooled as expected to 2.2% for the month. The STOXX 600 rose 1.07%, Germany's DAX added 1.7%, the French CAC gained 1.1% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.61%.Across the Asia markets on Tuesday, markets also rebounded in the region following Monday's sell-off as investors await clarity on Trump's incoming tariffs, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.11%, South Korea's Kospi Index added 1.62%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.38% and China's CSI index ended the day flat.The local market started the trading week mixed with the third-worst session of 2025 posted on Monday followed by a recovery on Tuesday with the key index ending Tuesday's session up 1%.The RBA also held the nation's cash rate at 4.1% for the next period to assess the unfolding trade situation with the US and to ensure inflation in Australia remains on track in the target range of 2-3%.Elsewhere in the economic data space, Australia's latest retail sales figures for February were released yesterday coming in at a rise of 0.2% for February which fell short of economists' expectations and is a positive reading for Australia's inflation journey easing as consumer spend is a big contributor to inflationary pressures.Investors really are riding the wave of volatility right now ahead of Trump's ‘Liberation Day' reciprocal tariff day in the US on Wednesday the 2nd April whereby it is expected the US President will announce an array of tariffs on countries that he believes have been unfairly taxing US imports for some time.The recent volatility has propelled gold to yet another record high overnight with the price of the commodity touching US$3145/ounce as investors flock to the safe-haven asset during times of high uncertainty.What to watch today:Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.35% tracking Wall Street's rally overnight.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.33% lower at US$71.25/barrel, gold is down 0.24% at US$3112/ounce and iron ore is up 0.08% at US$102.51/tonne.The Aussie dollar has slightly strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy US$0.62, 93.70 Japanese Yen, 48.44 British pence and NZ$1.10 cents.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has downgraded Opthea (ASX:OPT) to a sell rating from a buy rating and have dropped the 12-month price target on the company to 5cps following the release of Phase 3 trial results that failed to show any benefit in improving visual acuity when combined with either Eylea or Lucentis across both primary and key secondary endpoints.And Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) from $83 to $85 and maintain a buy rating on the hotels and gaming company after the company's Phoenix Link has grown to 750 units in the EK database after just 4-months with performance strong at 2.5x floor average although trending down. The analyst expects operating momentum in FY25 to accelerate, particularly in Gaming Operations.

The world's largest market, the US, started the new trading week mostly in the green despite investors remaining nervous about ‘liberation day' on April 2nd whereby it is expected President Donald Trump will announce an array of reciprocal tariffs on countries he believes have been tough on the US in terms of tariffs and trade in recent years. The Dow Jones rose 1%, the S&P500 added 0.55% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 0.14%.In Europe overnight the sea of red extended into the new trading week across the region as investors brace for reciprocal tariffs out of the US on 2nd April. The STOXX600 fell 1.51% to post the first losing month on the index for 2025. Germany's DAX lost 1.33%, the French CAC fell 1.58% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down 0.88%.Across the APAC region on Monday, markets also closed lower on Monday ahead of Trump's second round of tariffs to be announced. Japan's Nikkei plunged 4.05%, China's CSI index lost 0.71%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.09% and South Korea's Kospi index ended the day down 3%.South Korea and Japan are expected to bear much of the brunt of Trump's newly introduced 25% automotive tariff with these regions ranking 2nd and 3rd among the countries with the highest automotive trade with the US.Locally to start the week the ASX200 plunged into the red with a 1.7% decline at the closing bell to mark the 3rd worst trading session of the year, as global market sentiment remains uneasy amid escalated tariff, trade war and subdued economic global growth concerns.The iron ore mining giants were sold off on Monday as the outlook for exports remains murky, especially to our largest trade partner, China. BHP, Rio and Champion Iron each fell over 3%, over 4% and over 5% respectively to start the new trading week lower.Domain shares fell almost 2% on Monday after the board unanimously recommended a takeover bid from US real estate company CoStar to shareholders. Shareholders were seemingly unimpressed which led to the sell-off yesterday.What to watch today:Ahead of Tuesday's trading session the ASX, the SPI futures are anticipating the market will open the day up 0.85% tracking Wall Street's gains overnight.The all-important RBA interest rate meeting is today with the market expecting Australia's central bank to hold the current cash rate at 4.1% for the next period.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 2.85% higher at US$71.34/barrel, gold is 1.3% higher at US$3124/ounce and iron ore is up 0.07% at US$102.43/tonne.The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback overnight to buy US$0.62, 93.67 Japanese Yen, 48.22 British Pence and NZ$1.10.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has slightly reduced the 12-month price target on Light & Wonder (ASX:LNW) from $205 to $197 and maintain a buy rating on the leading global cross-platform games operator after Aristocrat Leisure escalated its legal fight against Light and Wonder with a second amended complaint around LNW's Jewel of the Dragon game.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Cochlear (ASX:COH) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 23-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $262.30 to the range of $246 to $250 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street closed lower on Friday as hotter-than-expected personal spending inflation data and US trade policy uncertainty dampened investor sentiment. The Dow Jones fell 1.7% on Friday, the S&P 500 lost 1.97% and the tech heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 2.7%.On Friday U.S. core personal consumption expenditures price index came in hotter-than-expected for February with a rise of 2.8% and 0.4% MoM indicating persistent inflation across consumer spending.Over in Europe on Friday, markets in the region closed lower as global market sentiment declines on trade and tariff uncertainty. The STOXX 600 fell 0.77%, Germany's DAX and the French CAC each lost 1%, and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day flat.Across Asia on Friday, Trump tariff threats continue to keep investors on edge in the region which led to a negative day across the board on Friday. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.8%, South Korea's Kospi index ended the day down 1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.65% and China's CSI index ended the day down 0.44%.Locally to end the week the ASX edged 0.2% higher to end a volatile trading week as Trump's tariffs cloud economic outlook on a global scale. Despite the turbulence, the ASX200 posted a 0.6% gain for the trading week last week as a 2.55% rally for the financial sector and 2% gain among energy stocks offset weakness among the rate sensitive sectors of REIT and Tech stocks.Packaging group Orora took the biggest hit on Friday with an 8% decline after the French Competition Authority announced a review into industry-wide anticompetitive practices, which includes into Saverglass, a European bottle maker that Orora acquired in 2023.Paladin Energy fell a further 4.1% on Friday after the uranium producer retracted its 2025 production guidance due to unseasonably heavy rainfall in Namibia in recent times, which is where Paladin's Langer Heinrich mine is located.What to watch today:Ahead of Monday's trading session here in Australia, the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 1.13%.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 0.8% lower at US$69.36/barrel, gold is up 0.94% at US$3084.35/ounce and iron ore is up 0.07% at US$102.43/tonne.The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback to buy 62.80 US cents, 94.27 Japanese Yen, 49.03 British Pence, and NZ$1.11.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has decreased the 12-month price target on Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) from $330/share to $280/share and maintain a buy rating on the leading medical imaging company after Bell Potter's analyst completed a review into the timing of new contract installations and their subsequent impacts on revenue over the coming years. The downgrade in PT is due to downgrades in FY25 and FY26 EPS expectations from the analyst following the review into the contract installations.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Telstra Group (ASX:TLS) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 17-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $4.23 to the range of $4.31 to $4.35 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street started the new trading week higher across the key indices as investors remain optimistic that President Donald Trump may hold back from implementing some of his tariff plans that could lead to an escalated trade war and economic slowdown in the US. The Dow Jones rose 1.42% on Monday, the S&P500 climbed 1.76% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 2.27%.Across the European markets on Monday, markets in the region closed slightly lower as investor optimism around Trump easing tariffs faded. The STOXX 600 fell 0.13%, Germany's DAX lost 0.17%, the French CAC dropped 0.26% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down 0.1%.Asia markets closed Monday's session mixed as Trump's reciprocal tariff deadline of April 2 draws closer. South Korea's Kospi Index lost 0.42%, and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.18%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.91% and China's CSI index rose 0.51%.Locally to start the week, the ASX200 seesawed between positive and negative before ending the day just 0.07% higher as a banking rally offset heavy losses among staples, tech and industrials stocks.Investors took some profits from the supermarket giants yesterday following a strong rally for both Coles and Woolworths on Friday amid the lack of evidence of price gauging found by the ACCC in their investigation.Synlait Milk shares tumbled over 8% on Monday after the milk producers' latest results failed to impress investors despite the NZ-based company reporting a swing to profitability with a 105% increase in NPAT to $4.8m.And global building materials and fibre cement company James Hardie Industries weighed on the market gains yesterday following the company announcing it has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based AZEK which is a leader in providing high-performance, low-maintenance building products and solutions. Investors fled the stock upon release of the announcement as the deal is valued $14bn, which is an expensive multiple to pay, around 23 x EBITDA compared to JHX current multiple of 12x.What to watch today:Ahead of Tuesday's trading session in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.45% tracking Wall Street's gains overnight.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 1.25% higher at US$69.13/barrel, gold is down 0.4% at US$3011.82/ounce and iron ore is down 0.15% at US$102/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback to buy US$0.62, 94.72 Japanese Yen, 48.62 British Pence, and NZ$1.09.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has increased the rating on Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) from a hold to a buy and have raised the 12-month price target on the gold production and development company from $4.45 to $5.50 following the company's announcement of the sale of its non-core Henty Gold Mine to Kaiser Reed to simplify the business, enable greater focus on the expansion and exploration of the flag ship Plutonic Gold Operation and adding a clow cost and rapid option to unlock value at the Bendigo Project.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on ARB Corporation (ASX:ARB) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 8-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $34.00 to the range of $26.25 to $27.50 according to standard principles of technical analysis. 

Wall St closed a turbulent week higher on Friday as Trump, once again, signalled there would be some ‘flexibility' with tariffs, however, he did maintain that the tariffs implemented at the April 2 deadline will be reciprocal, saying all countries that have tariffs on US goods will be taxed. The Nasdaq rose 0.2%, the Dow Jones added just 0.08%, and the S&P500 also ended the day up 0.08%. Companies are increasingly confused over the tariff implications in the US and as a result as uncertain about spend, hiring and forecasting until there is more clarity around tariff implications.In Europe on Friday, markets in the region closed lower led by travel stocks tumbling amid London's Heathrow Airport closure due to a fire on Friday. The STOXX 600, French CAC and the UK's FTSE100 ended the day down 0.6%, while Germany's DAX ended the day down 0.5%.Across Asia markets on Friday, stocks mostly fell in the region due to ongoing uncertainty around the US economy and tariff implications. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.19%, China's CSI index fell 1.52%, South Korea's Kospi index ended the day up 0.23%, and Japan's Nikkei ended the day down 0.2%.Locally on Friday, the ASX200 rose 0.17% despite Wall Street's turbulence on Thursday as market heavyweights propelled the key index to a positive finish. For the week, the ASX200 rose 1.83%Australia's supermarket giants posted strong gains on Friday after the ACCC released its 441-page findings of its ‘price gauging' investigation. Investors welcomed the findings outlining minimal evidence was found of price gauging and no disciplinary action would be taken against the two key providers in Coles and Woolworths.What to watch today:Ahead of Monday's trading session the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the new trading week down 0.51%.Commodity prices took a hit late in the week last week which weighed on the local materials sector as China's property market remains depreciated, and Trump's tariffs continue hurting demand for critical metals like copper.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.31% higher at US$68.28/barrel, gold is down 0.75% at US$3023.65/ounce and iron ore is down 0.15% at US$102/tonne.The Aussie dollar has slightly weakened against the greenback to buy US$0.62 cents, 93.69 Japanese Yen, 48.55 British Pence and NZ$1.09.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has initiated coverage of Cuscal (ASX:CCL) with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $3.40 on the payments and regulated data service provider. Bell Potter's analyst sees compound gross revenue growth of 17.7% pa driven primarily by growth in transaction revenue across all core competencies and client wins. The company also has demonstrated a track record of innovation, investment and timing with launching milestone connectivity for all mobile payments and acquiring Basiq in 2024 to expand its market presence and offering.And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on Regis Healthcare (ASX:REG) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 109-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $6.72 to the range of $7.50 to $7.70 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall St closed higher on Wednesday after the Fed said two rate cuts are still on the cards for 2025. The Dow Jones rose 0.92%, the S&P500 added 1.08% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 1.41%. The US central bank maintained the current cash rate as was widely expected at the latest meeting overnight however boosted investor sentiment by saying two rate cuts are still coming this year.In Europe overnight, markets closed mostly higher led by the French CAC rising 0.7%, while the STOXX 600 added 0.26%, Germany's DAX fell 0.34% and the UK's FTSE 100 ended the day flat.The APAC markets closed the midweek session mixed on turbulence in the US on Tuesday and after Japan's central bank maintained interest rates steady at 0.5% and signalled potential impact of US President, Donald Trump's tariffs. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.25%, South Korea's Kospi index rose 0.62%, China's CSI index closed flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also ended the day flat.The market movements locally yesterday matched the rollercoaster of sentiment around the globe right now, with the ASX bouncing between red and green before sliding in afternoon trade with the key index ending the day down 0.41%.Materials stocks came under pressure yesterday amid a 5.1% sell-off in Mineral Resources following the cessation of haulage on its crucial Onslow iron haul road, while gold miners also slipped as traders took profits on the record gold price rally this week.Mortgages insurer Helia Group took the biggest hit yesterday with a 15% dive after shares traded ex-dividend.What to watch today:On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 0.5% higher at US$67.23/barrel, gold is up 0.51% at US$3047/ounce and iron ore is up 0.1% at US$102.42/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened overnight to buy 63.61 US cents, 94.61 Japanese Yen, 49.13 British Pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 9 cents.Ahead of Thursday's trading session on the ASX the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.67% tracking Wall Street's gains overnight.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has upgraded the rating on Alcidion (ASX:ALC) from a hold to a buy and maintain a 12-month price target of 11cps on the healthcare IT company following a significant restructure of the business through reducing headcount and operating expenses, while also signing its largest commercial contract to date with NCIC to the value of $37.5m over 10-years.Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on Stockland Corp (ASX:SGP) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 5-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $4.88 to the range of $4.54 to $4.60 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

Wall Street slipped into the red again on Tuesday with the S&P500 fighting to stay out of correction territory as it trades 8.6% below its recent record, as investors remain concerned over the impacts Trump's tariffs will have on the US economy. The Dow Jones lost 0.62%, the S&P500 shed 1.07% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 1.71%. Tesla shares have been hit hard lately and took a further 5% tumble on Tuesday after RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on the EV company citing rising competition in the EV space.Over in Europe on Tuesday, markets in the region closed higher as investors assessed momentum in Germany's historic debt reform deal, which unlocks a major stimulus package for higher defence, infrastructure and climate fund spending. The STOXX 600 rose 0.61%, Germany's DAX added 1.03%, the French CAC gained 0.5% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.29%.Across the APAC region overnight Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied again to a three-year high yesterday, ending the day up 2.29% as investors continue piling into tech stocks listed on the index following fresh stimulus and strong economic data out in the region. China's CSI index rose 0.27%, Japan's Nikkei gained 1.2% and South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day up 0.06%.Locally, the ASX started the week higher before pulling back yesterday as the local market is taking strong lead from Wall Street movements amid global uncertainty over Trump's tariffs and subsequent implications of taxes imposed on good being imported into the US. Rising geopolitical tensions in the form of Israel launching a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday propelled the price of gold to another fresh record high as investors flock into the safe-haven asset in times of great uncertainty.Defensive stocks in the utilities, consumer staples and healthcare sectors all outperformed yesterday, for a similar reason to gold's rally, as investors look for investments that are mostly unaffected by a downturn in the economy.On that note, Woolworths shares jumped over 1% yesterday after Macquarie upgraded the supermarket to an outperform rating, while former Woolworths alcohol arm, Endeavour slipped 1.6% yesterday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the alcohol retailer to neutral.What to watch today:Ahead of the midweek trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 0.66% tracking Wall Street's turbulence overnight.On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 0.94% lower at US$66.95/barrel, gold is up 1.10% to a fresh record US$3032.60/ounce, and iron ore is down 0.52% at US$102.32/tonne.The Aussie dollar has further strengthened against the greenback overnight to buy US$0.63, 94.99 Japanese Yen, 49.15 British Pence and 1 NZ$1.09 cents.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has decreased the 12-month price target on REA Group (ASX:REA) from $281 to $264 and maintain a buy rating on the leading online real estate listings platform following the release of February property data including a national listings declining 8% YoY for the month. REA also guided to ‘flat-to-marginal' increase in FY25 listings amid a slow housing market in Australia at present.

What a week it was on markets last week as Trump tariffs and global trade war concerns spread fear throughout global markets leading to a mass sell off in equities and the price of safe-haven gold topping US$3000/ounce for the first time ever.Wall Street reversed some of last week's losses to close higher across the key indices on Friday as news out of the Whitehouse around tariffs eased on Friday which prompted investors to reconsider buying into equities following days of sharp selloffs. The Dow Jones rose 1.65% on Friday, the S&P500 added 2.13% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 2.61%. The see-saw of tariffs being on, and off Trump's policy front has spooked markets over the last week as investors shift portfolios into safe-haven assets to manage the current high volatility among equities and global markets.In Europe on Friday markets closed higher after German lawmakers came closer to agreeing on reforming the country's debt-brake rule. The STOXX 600 rose 1.14%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.65%, the French CAC added 1.05%, and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 1.13%.Across the APAC region last week, markets mostly rose on Friday despite Wall Street's tumble on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.72%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 2.12%, China's CSI index gained 2.43% but South Korea's Kospi Index ended the day down 0.28%.Locally on Friday the ASX200 recovered some ground with a 0.52% rise at the closing bell, but the key index posted a 2% fall for the week last week. Rate sensitive sectors of tech and consumer discretionary took the biggest hits last week as consumers fear inflation in the U.S. and locally can rebound as a result of Trump's tariffs.What to watch locally today:Ahead of Monday's trading session on the ASX, the SPI futures are anticipating the local market will open the new trading week up 1.09% tracking Wall Street's rise on Friday.On the commodities front this morning oil is up 0.95% at US$67.18/barrel, gold is up 2.47% at US$2983/ounce and iron ore is up 0.7% at US$102.85/tonne.The Aussie dollar has slightly strengthened to buy US$0.63, 94.10 Japanese Yen, 48.64 British Pence and NZ$1.10.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has initiated coverage of Seek (ASX:SEK) with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $27.00 with the view that the company's market leading portfolio is centralised for scaling. Seek is the largest marketplace in Australia for job advertisements and the analyst can see potential ad volumes increasing as macro tailwinds are driven by the RBA's cutting cycle.And Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on South32 (ASX:S32) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 70-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $3.53 to the range of $2.96 to $3.06 according to standard principles of technical analysis.

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.

Wall St started the new trading week sharply lower as investors brace for the impact of Trump's tariffs on Mexico and Canada, of which come into effect on Tuesday US time. The Dow Jones fell 2.1%, the S&P500 lost 2.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down a sharp 3.2%. Investor hopes of a last-minute deal to prevent the tariffs from going ahead were dashed in afternoon trade after President Trump reiterated the 25% levies on imports from Mexico and Canada will go ahead from Tuesday. Companies that face a direct hit from the tariffs tumbled yesterday including Ford and General Motors.Over in Europe on Monday, markets closed higher as defence stocks continue to surge amid renewed spend in the sector. The STOXX 600 rose 1.1%, Germany's DAX rose 2.6%, the French CAC added 1% and, in the UK, the FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.7%.Across the Asia region on Monday, markets mostly rose as investors awaited clarity on Trump's tariff plans. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.44%, Taiwan's Taiex index fell 1.3% and China's CSI index closed down just 0.04%.Locally on Monday the ASX started the new trading month in the green with the key index posting a 0.9% rise at the closing bell and all sectors ended the day higher led by Energy stocks rising 2.02%. The positive market sentiment comes ahead of a wave of tariff implications out of the US commencing this week which is set to shake up market returns and outlook, while we are also bracing locally for the latest slew of economic data with the GDP reading out later in the week. The energy rally on Monday was amid investor outlook for the price of oil to rise when tariffs on Mexico and Canada come into effect as they are two major exporters of crude.Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment Group shares were suspended on Monday following a trading halt after the company failed to lodge accounts to the ASX for reporting season.Medical imaging giant Pro Medicus jumped 3.2% on Monday after the company signed yet another deal to roll out its core imaging tools. The deal worth $40m is with US radiology provider LucidHealth and will see Pro Medicus devices and systems rolled out throughout the LucidHealth network.What to watch today:Ahead of Tuesday's trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day down 1.35% following Wall Street's tumble overnight.On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 2.3% lower at US$68.16/barrel, gold is up 1.11% at US$2888.53/ounce and iron ore is down 0.21% at US$106.90/tonne.The Aussie dollar has weakened against the greenback to buy US$0.62, 92.84 Japanese Yen, 49.13 British Pence and NZ$1.11.Trading Ideas:Bell Potter has maintained a buy rating on Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) and have raised the 12-month price target on the home goods giant to $6.00/share following the release of 1H25 results including some key beats in the Australian franchising division and also in the NZ operations. Single digit earnings growth across most metrics was reported and the analyst increased the 12-month price target due to multiple catalysts near-mid-term such as improving sales trends and the growing AI movement.And Bell Potter has slightly increased the 12-month price target on Bub's Australia (ASX:BUB) to 15.5cps and maintain a hold rating on the infant formula producer following the release of the company's 1H25 results including net revenue growth of 24% to $48.5m, EBITDA of $0.5m compared to a loss of $6.8m in the PCP, and outlook for net revenue target for FY25 of $102m. The analyst sees Bub's continues to make inroads into the US however remains cognisant of the potential impact of tariffs (if any).

Why Strength and Weakness Analysis is a Game-Changer as a Forex Trader Podcast: Find out more about Blueberry Markets – Click Here Find out more about my Online Video Forex Course Book a Call with Andrew or one of his team now Click Here to Watch Prop Firm Masterclass #571: Why Strength and Weakness Analysis is a Game-Changer as a Forex Trader In this video: 00:30– Analysing Currency Strength & Weakness. 00:54 – A real trading example using the Japanese Yen. 03:00 – Refining the pairs you trade further. 03:50 – We analyse and post the Daily Strength & Weaknesses. 05:16 – Looking at the Weekly charts at the start of each trading week. 06:10 – Learn how to analyse the strength & weaknesses for yourself. 06:25 - Book a Call and talk with us. 06:40 – Blueberry Markets as a Forex Broker. 07:10 – Comments, Like & Subscribe. I'm going to talk about the importance of trading with strength and weakness in your favor. It's going to give you a massively improved trading performance. Let's talk about that and more right now. Hi there, Traders! Andrew Mitchem here at The Forex Trading Coach with video and podcast number 571. Analysing Currency Strength & Weakness. Today is all about analyzing currency, strength and weakness. Why we do it, how we do it, and how it can massively help increase your overall trading performance. So you think about it in terms of basics. Well, if you're trading something that strong against something as weak. Logic would suggest, it has to add more probability to the trade. A real trading example using the Japanese Yen. Here's a classic example. Let's say the Japanese yen was very weak across the board. And you're looking at a chart, let's say it's the daily chart and you're looking at the JPY it's going up. You're looking at EUR/JPY, it's going up. The USD/JPY, the CHF/JPY, the AUD/JPY and NZD/JPY, USD/JPY, SGD/JPY, HKD/JPY, whatever it is that you have on your charts, everything against the yen is going up. So therefore there's massive yen weakness at this point in time. Now you're probably unlikely to go and take all of those trades even if they were suitable candle patterns, even if they had some round numbers to protect, stop losses and they had room to hit that profit target. So all the things that we look for, you're unlikely to go and say take ¥8, ¥9, ¥10 related pairs. So what you're prepared to do is analyze strength and weakness. Now, we clearly know that right now in our example, the yen is the weakest currency. But what happens if, say, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar and the Canadian dollar were all fairly weak against everything else apart from the yen? So those are the commodity currencies and they tend to move together. So let's say you're looking at the AUD/USD, it was heading down, the AUD/GBP was open, Aussie is heading up. So there's Aussie weakness. You're looking at NZD/USD, it's heading down against the franc is heading down. There's a lot of weakness overall in the New Zealand, the Aussie and the Canadian. So that is telling us that maybe with our strength and weakness analysis that maybe that the AUD/JPY, the NZD/JPY and the CAD/JPY are probably not going to be your high probability trades on those daily charts that we talked about. Refining the pairs you trade further.   You could also go as far as saying, well, let's have a look at, let's say the EUR/JPY and the GBP/JPY. Also looking good. You could go as far as say, let's have a look at the EUR/GBP and let's say the EUR/GBP was heading down massively big red bearish candle on the EUR/GBP. That again tells us that the euro's got weakness and the pound's, got strength. So now when we go to the GBP/JPY, we're now trading a very strong currency with a very weak one. And therefore you may not want to take the EUR/JPY as well. So you might only be taking, let's say the GBP/JPYH, the USD/JPY, you might see the SGD/JPY, all the HKD/JPY yen or the CHF/JPY also good.

The yen surges against the greenback as hopes of a rate increase rise following stronger-than-expected CPI data for Tokyo in November. President Biden warns that President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on neighbours Mexico and Canada would be counter-productive. In France, Prime Minister Michel Barnier offers a key concession in budget talks. The National Rally, however, says the move will not be enough to stave off a no-confidence vote against his government early next week. Following Direct Line's recent rejection of takeover advances, Aviva approaches its rival's shareholders directly which could pave the way for a hostile takeover bid. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode Moritz Seibert is joined by Jerome Callut, one of the founders of DCM Systematic, a quantitative hedge fund based in Geneva, Switzerland. DCM Systematic aims to produce returns that are uncorrelated to trend following CTAs by pursuing a different path to alpha. In fact, the team around Jerome is very much focused on avoiding getting into trend following trades. Instead, they emphasize strategies which anticipate the flows of other traders and use several behavior-based models to distinguish themselves from the SG CTA index and other industry benchmarks. Jerome and Moritz speak discuss generic trade examples and Jerome explains why pro-active and re-active risk management is very important for them.-----EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCE: Find Out How to Build a Safer & Better Performing Portfolio using this FREE NEW Portfolio Builder Tool-----Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.IT's TRUE ? – most CIO's read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.And you can get a free copy of my latest book “Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.Follow Moritz on Linkedin.Follow Jerome on LinkedIn.Episode TimeStamps: 02:21 - Introduction to Jerome Callut03:52 - Why they use non-trend following models08:42 - What would happen if they added a trend following component to their model?09:57 - The 3 categories of their trading system11:11 - Category 1, Behavioural: Anticipating the flows and trades of other traders15:35 - An example of how they handle flow18:35 - Did Callut anticipate the unwind of the Japanese Yen carry trade?21:51 - Exploiting the skid marks in the markets23:53...

Oct 25, 2024 – Whether it's the US dollar, Chinese Renminbi, Japanese Yen, Euro, or British Pound, gold is seeing an astonishing level of strength relative to nearly every single currency in the world. We discuss what's happening with gold, what we're seeing with...

Charles Schwab's Jeffrey Kleintop gives a global perspective into world economies and markets. He says the U.S. has shown economic surprise, but other central banks showed more commitment to their rate cut paths. Jeffrey also discusses election volatility being priced into bonds and yields, the state of the Japanese Yen, and weighs the strength of China's recent stimulus. ======== Schwab Network ======== Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribe Download the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185 Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7 Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watch Watch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-explore Watch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/ Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

In this week's episode, Ian and Kevin discuss the S&P being flat this week, risk off areas in fixed income, if recent movement in Utilities and Staples contradicts the risk off view, the Japanese Yen and Nikkei, and recent performance of value areas like Financials, Materials, and Industrials.

✨ This episode is sponsored by Public.com. Lock in your 6.9% yield: https://public.com/julia ✨ Tom McClellan, editor of The McClellan Market Report, and a prominent figure in the field of stock market analysis and technical analysis, joins Julia La Roche on episode 193 to share his views on the economy and markets in a presentation of charts. Tom is the son of Sherman and Marian McClellan, who are recognized for creating the McClellan Oscillator and Summation Index in 1969. Tom McClellan has done extensive analytical spreadsheet development for the stock and commodities markets, including the synthesizing of the four-year Presidential Cycle Pattern.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as an Army helicopter pilot for 11 years. **DISCLOSURE** Paid endorsement for Public Investing, Inc. Not investment advice. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US Listed and registered securities, options and Bonds in a self-directed brokerage account are offered by Public Investing. ETFs, options and Bonds are available to US members only.  *A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 fractional investment-grade and high-yield bonds. The 6.9% yield is the average annualized yield to maturity (YTM) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees, as of 8/23/2024. A bond's yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate, and a bond's YTM is “locked in” when the bond is purchased. Your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTM is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTM of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity, or if the issuer calls or defaults on the bond. While corporate bond yields should fall in reaction to a Federal Reserve rate cut, we cannot know whether that will be true of the bonds in the Bond Account, how quickly bond yields will respond, or how much they will decline. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. Fractional Bonds also carry risks including liquidity risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, inflation risk, and potential tax liabilities. Read more about the risks associated with fixed income and fractional bonds and learn more about the Bond Account at https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account. Lock in your 6.9% yield: https://public.com/julia Timestamps: 0:00 Welcome back Tom 1:00 Where we are today in the markets 2:00 McClellan Oscillator showing the bulls are no longer in control 6:30 Presidential Cycle Pattern 10:50 Liquidity 12:40 Gold 20:29 Japanese Yen 22:00 Mexican Peso 23:25 Gold 25:25 Dollar 31:40 McClellan Oscillator explained, signaling an overbought and bearish condition in the markets 33:16 Are recession signals flashing in the market? 36:00 Demographics 38:27 Market timing 40:41 Federal Reserve is 13 months overdue for cutting 43:00 Presidential Cycle 46:29 Parting thoughts Links:   https://www.mcoscillator.com/ https://twitter.com/McClellanOsc

A surge in the Japanese Yen is resulting in home repatriation of Yen-funded positions overseas, and close-out of Yen-funded positions abroad. While Google was found guilty of home bias anti-competitive search engine behavior, any judicial remedies may be worse for recipients of Google's “shelf space” payments than for Google itself. Work-from-home trends have plateaued at ~30%, which has important implications for distressed office investors. Most distressed sales now require discounts of 60%+ vs pre-COVID levels; the fundamentals of the office sector explain why. View video here

In this episode, we explain the Japanese Yen carry trade and why it had such an impact on markets earlier this month.  We then talk about the new Ethereum ETFs that have been launched and what type of inflows they have had so far. Dan then goes over 3 lesser known ETFs that are worth a closer look for investors. Tickers of Stocks & ETF discussed: HXS.TO, FEQT.TO, ZLB.TO, CETH, ETHW, FETH, EZET, ETH, ETHE, QETH, ETHA, ETHV Check out our portfolio by going to Jointci.com Our Website Canadian Investor Podcast Network Twitter: @cdn_investing Simon's twitter: @Fiat_Iceberg Braden's twitter: @BradoCapital Dan's Twitter: @stocktrades_ca Want to learn more about Real Estate Investing? Check out the Canadian Real Estate Investor Podcast! Apple Podcast - The Canadian Real Estate Investor  Spotify - The Canadian Real Estate Investor  Web player - The Canadian Real Estate Investor Sign up for Finchat.io for free to get easy access to global stock coverage and powerful AI investing tools. Register for EQ Bank, the seamless digital banking experience with better rates and no nonsense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest price moves and insights with Jennifer Sanasie.To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the recent rally in Japanese yen and its implications on the crypto market. Plus, why the market shift fueled by yen's rally could mean heightened volatility ahead.-This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes.-This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “Markets Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez, and edited by Victor Chen. All original music by Doc Blust and Colin Mealey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest price moves and insights with Jennifer Sanasie.To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the recent rally in Japanese yen and its implications on the crypto market. Plus, why the market shift fueled by yen's rally could mean heightened volatility ahead.-This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes.-This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “Markets Daily” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez, and edited by Victor Chen. All original music by Doc Blust and Colin Mealey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Great week, last week, as markets recovered from the Japanese Yen Trade Carry collapse. There is now a big gap between the S&P and the Japanese Yen, which has started to reverse a bit. We don't believe the whole issue-risk thing is quite over. Markets are behaving very similarly to markets in early 1987; coincidence? (We don't like analog comparisons of years to years, but this one is spooky!) Keep a watch on interest rates, which we believe could reverse for a retracement of rates. Rates are trending lower, but we're about to trigger a buy signal on interest rates. Crude oil continues to flop around in a consolidation range. International markets have been recovering; Emerging markets haven't done much since the 2020 crash. Some of these markets are actually delivering a drag to portfolio performance.  Hosted by RIA Chief Investment Strategist, Lance Roberts, CIO  Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer ------- Watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4p5FFDk7aA&list=PLwNgo56zE4RAbkqxgdj-8GOvjZTp9_Zlz&index=1 ------- Get more info & commentary:  https://realinvestmentadvice.com/insights/real-investment-daily/ ------- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN -------- Subscribe to SimpleVisor: https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new -------- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #MarketCorrection #MarketRally #InterestRates #RateReversal #BondYields #CrudeOil #EnergyStocks  #MarketBullishness #MarketCorrection #20DMA #50DMA #100DMA #InvestingAdvice #Money #Investing

Even if very short-lived, market vol episodes as protracted as that of Monday August 5th, demand our attention. In seeking some understanding of the why of successive 10% NKY moves and a 65 pre-open handle on the VIX, it was a pleasure to welcome Oliver Brennan to the Alpha Exchange. An FX vol strategist at BNP, Oliver brings theoretical training in physics to the related but also very different world of option pricing. In setting up the discussion, we first explore a series of past FX vol episodes including the Euro-Swiss break and CNH re-peg in 2015 and Brexit from the following year.  At the heart of these events lie economic imbalances and Central Banks that get tested by the market to hold the line.We shift to a discussion of the setup going into early August in the Japanese Yen. Always an investment currency because of its balance of payment profile, Oliver argues that carry trades had gotten especially extended as dollar/yen trended so consistently higher. Market participants were long calls and long carry, and the dealing community was especially exposed to an increase in both realized and implied vol. He notes the absence of corporate supply as well of Yen vol in this recent event, something that exacerbated the repricing. With the tails especially under-owned, the more than 6% sell-off in dollar/yen caught the market well off-sides.I hope you enjoy this episode of the Alpha Exchange, my conversation with Oliver Brennan. 

Markets have been dominated by extreme bouts of volatility in the past few weeks, such as US equities seeing 3-5% intraday drawdowns, and the Japanese Yen appreciating almost 10% in just 3 weeks. Meanwhile, concerns of overhype in the AI theme and US recession fears feature prominently.​Join Eric Mak from Julius Baer's Equity Research Asia team, as he shares insights on how to navigate this turbulence.

Stock markets around the world are melting down as the most popular trades around A.I. and Tech are unwinding amid worries about overvaluation and signs of weakness in the U.S. economy. Paul La Monica from Barron's joins The Express to help us find the key similarities and differences between the Internet Bubble of 1999 and the A.I. craze of today. Plus, one of the most popular trades in the world is grinding to a halt as the Japanese Yen strengthens against the U.S. Dollar, and it's impacting other markets around the world, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been aggressively selling some of its favorite stocks, including Apple. LINKS FOR SHOW NOTES https://www.investopedia.com/what-is-the-sahm-rule-8637564 https://www.investopedia.com/the-express-podcast-episode-181-8623072 https://www.investopedia.com/key-takeaways-from-berkshire-hathaway-q2-fy2024-earnings-8689932 https://www.investopedia.com/what-to-expect-in-the-markets-this-week-8688987 https://www.barrons.com/authors/paul-r-lamonica https://twitter.com/LaMonicaBuzz https://www.eri-c.com/

In this monthly China update, our experts discuss their key takeaways from China's Third Plenum and Politburo meeting. They also analyse the effect of recent surprise rate cuts, and the so-called “cash for clunkers” program in boosting consumption. They also discuss the Chinese equity market in the context of an ongoing sector rotation in US tech stocks, strengthening of the Japanese Yen, as well as latest developments in the US-China chip war.This episode is presented by Richard Tang, China Strategist and Head of Research Hong Kong at Julius Baer, with Hong Hao, Partner and Chief Economist at GROW Investment Group.

Another new low for JPY as the Japanese government is shuffling up its top Finance Ministry people. Everyone continues to blame the Fed for the yen's crash but the evidence conclusively shows that's not it. This only raises the question, what is it? The yen's own track record holds the answer and it is one that applies to you.Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisReuters Japan names new FX diplomat as yen hits 38-year lowhttps://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-appoints-atsushi-mimura-top-fx-diplomat-replacing-masato-kanda-2024-06-28/Reuters Japan warns against rapid FX moves, reiterates readiness for actionhttps://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/japan-warns-against-rapid-fx-moves-reiterates-readiness-action-2024-06-24/Bloomberg Yen Falls Through 161 Per Dollar, Putting Intervention in Focushttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-28/yen-falls-through-161-per-dollar-as-intervention-wagers-increaseBarrons The Fed's Higher for Longer Policy Is Breaking the Yenhttps://www.barrons.com/articles/fed-yen-b66308afhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU

From the BBC World Service: The Japanese Yen has fallen to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar for nearly 40 years. It’s causing jitters in the markets, and analysts warn about potential government intervention. Then, protests are continuing in Kenya over the unpopular new finance bill. And as Barcelona becomes the latest city to crack down on short-term rentals, we hear from an unhappy property owner.

From the BBC World Service: The Japanese Yen has fallen to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar for nearly 40 years. It’s causing jitters in the markets, and analysts warn about potential government intervention. Then, protests are continuing in Kenya over the unpopular new finance bill. And as Barcelona becomes the latest city to crack down on short-term rentals, we hear from an unhappy property owner.

Last time we spoke about the first Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin became swift rivals after the first Zhili-Fengtian War. The Zhili clique remained in control of Beijing and began bullying everyone into submission, trying to unify China under their thumb. Zhang Zuolin went to work reorganizing and retraining his army, for another war was looming over the horizon. Then in the southeast of China, conflict emerged between Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The Zhili backed Qi Xieyuan wanted to control Shanghai, which was under the control of Lu Yungxiang of the Anhui clique. The Anhui clique were on the death bed, Zhejiang was the last province under their control, thus he elected to fight for it. Lu Yungxiang sought help from anyone who possibly could help him, such as Zhang Zuolin and Dr Sun Yat-Sen, but little did he know but he was contributing to a much larger war.    #105 the Second Zhili-Fengtian War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Hello again, so after the first Zhili-Fengtian war of 1922, the Zhili warlords seized control over Beijing. Cao Kun bribed his way into the presidency as Zhang Zuolin licked his wounds and went back to Manchuria where he rebuilt his entire army. Zhang Zuolin appointed Yang Yuting as inspector general of the Mukden arsenal and Wang Yintai as director of the department of materials. He began purchasing more Renault FT tanks, increased his military production, now seeing 150 artillery pieces, 1000 machine guns, 60,000 rifles, 100,000 artillery shells and 600,000 rifle rounds pumping out of factories annually. He increased his navy and airforce, naming his son Zhang Xueliang as director of the aviation office. He purchased German and Italian aircraft, nearing 300 planes within 4 groups. Air bases and fields were built alongside naval headquarters and training schools in places like Harbin. To improve communications, additional water and coal supply stations were built in Suizhong, Xingcheng and Dayaogou so he could rapidly deploy troops via rail. Roads were further developed to increase transportation in areas without rail, each army was given wire communications such as telegraph or telephone lines, linking them to their general HQ's. Radio communication units were also developed, radio stations were built in Shenyang, Harbin and Jin county. The Fengtian military was reformed. Commanders like Bao Deshan and Xu Changyou who were blamed for losing the first zhili-fengtian war were court-martialed and executed in the spring of 1923. The rising star, Dogmeat General Zhang Zongchang aided Zhang Zuolin by massively recruiting White Russians who brought over all sorts of expertise and skills. The White Russians were commanded by Konstantin Petrovich Nechaev, alongside them Zhang also hired Japanese units. The Fengtian army expanded to 27 brigades from its original 25, organized into 3 armies of 3 divisions. Each division had three brigades. The cavalry was expanded from three to four divisions, with three brigades forming a division and the rest attached to infantry divisions as cavalry companies. The artillery regiments expanded from 4 to 10. Each division consisted of three brigades with either an infantry brigade or a combined brigade, and every division had an engineering battalion and a transportation battalion attached. Combined brigades were bolstered with an engineering company and a transportation company. All said an done the strength of the Fengtian army totaled more than 250,000 troops, and its performance was significantly improved. The best troops were found in the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Zhang Xueliang, and the 6th Brigade, commanded by Guo Songling, and they were viewed as the model units of the Fengtian army. The catalyst for what would be known as the second Zhili-Fengtian War, occurred on September 3rd of 1924, the first Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. When Lu Yungxiang of Zhejiang refused to cede administration of Shanghai to Qi Xieyuan, both Zhang Zuolin and Dr. Sun Yat-sen pledged to defend the neutrality of Zhejiang and end pulling everyone into a larger war. On September 4th, Dr Sun Yat-Sen held a meeting at his mansion in Guangzhou. There he announced he would assist Zhejiang to preserve Guangdong, thus he was enacting the Northern Expedition. His plan for the northern expedition was to first attack Jiangxi, after it was conquered next was Anhui. From there his KMT forces would link up with the Zhejiang forces, near the Jinpu road where they could march north to take Beijing. On September the 5th Dr Sun Yat-Sen publicly denounced Cao Kun and Wu Peifu and asked the people of Guangdong to work harder than they ever have so they could eliminate the warlords and China could be ruled by her people again. On September the 4th, in response to the war in the southeast, Zhang Zuolin declared war on the Zhili clique on the grounds of being in an alliance with Zhejiang and Dr Sun Yat-Sen. He also denounced Cao Kun, bringing up his bribery scheme. Zhang Zuolin's statement, and forgive me its poorly translated went something like this. "Curse Cao Kun with Power who bribed congressmen, raising teeth and claws, and stole power. Cao Kun harms the people. Now I Zhang Zuolin in charge of Manchuria and her people, and who is loyal to the people, and  is duty-bound will lead the three armies to wipe out the thieves." On September the 9th, Duan Qirui added his voice in a telegram against Cao Kun accusing him "of not knowing who the country and the people are, what ethics, justice and integrity are and unleashing four provinces to attack Zhejiang, excluding dissidents, hurting innocent people, and greedy for his own dignity. You have committed a heinous sin, and you have gone too far. How can you survive? The virtuous and powerful people in the world, who have great responsibilities for a while, will definitely be able to do their duty and act bravely when they see justice." On the 15th of September, Zhang Zuolin issued another telegram to Cao Kun, in the form of an ultimatum "This year natural disasters are prevalent and hungry people are everywhere. I have tried to say that attacking Zhejiang is wrong, and I have the strength to respond in favor of peace. However, the ink has not yet dried. Yet at the same time, the Zhili marched into Fengtian, detained Shanhaiguan trains, and blocked traffic. What was the purpose of this? In recent years, Cao Kun has been a puppet of Wu Peifu, which has caused public resentment. The impossibility of a military expedition is evident from the successive defeats of the Zhili army. We planned to send another envoy, but the train traffic has been cut off and we cannot enter Beijing. Therefore, we wait for the final answer." Indeed on September the 13th suddenly all the trains running along the Beijing-Fengtian railway stopped on Zhili orders. The war in Zhejiang had provided Wu Peifu with the occasion to force a showdown with Zhang Zuolin. Wu Peifu felt confident he would win. Wu Peifu had mobilized over a quarter of a million troops, divided into 3 armies. Wu Peifu trusted his military abilities and felt his subordinates were loyal to him, he was highly mistaken in that last part.  It would turn out, the christian general, Feng Yuxiang had major grievances. If you remember from the last episode, when ordered to attack Lu Yungxiang, Feng Yuxiang had refused. Instead Feng Yuxiang weaved a web, he pulled Wang Huaiqing to his side, the Beijing garrison commander Sun Yueh and Hu Qingyi. He complained to them about his army being slighted in the distribution of munition and supplies and he would move his troops very slowly out of Beijing when the war began. As it turned out, secret negotiations had been made. Zhang Zuolin's son Zhang Xueliang in the spring of 1923 had sent a letter to Feng Yuxiang and then his most trusted lt, Fu Xingpei to Beijing to secretly meet with him. Fu Xingpei met with Feng Yuxiang and his chief of staff Liu Ji at a secluded location in Nanyuan. The first meeting was brief, but fruitful as follow up meetings were made, now mediated through Duan Qiriu. Duan Qiriu brought the parties over to his residence in the Japanese quarter of Tientsin. There Feng Yuxiang was given a bribe between 1-2.5 million Japanese Yen. This bribe came from Zhang Zuolin's Japanese supplied war chest. Zhang Zuolin afterwards had every reason to believe Feng Yuxiang was in his pocket so he concentrated most of his forces around Shanhaiguan. The Zhili Cliques forces would come from the provinces of Henan, Shandong, Rehe (knowns as Jehol today), Chahar and Suiyuan. Meanwhile the Fengtian would have troops from Jilin, Heilongjiang and Fengtian. The 2nd war certainly exceed the first by a large margin and it would also involve battles over land, sea and air. The Zhili held an edge in numbers, but alienated generals would ultimately lose them the war. There was also an enormous technological gap between the Zhili and Fengtian armies. As I had mentioned the Fengtian had purchased a lot of western and Japanese weaponry and equipment. The Zhili clique also purchased western materials, but they were far behind the Fengtian army. Furthermore the Zhili clique had just experienced a series of small wars in Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Their troops were exhausted, lacked pay, and thus morale was not high. Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian army faced 4 major objectives to see the Zhili clique defeated. Ultimately they needed to capture Beijing and Tianjin. Yet to do so they first had to retake Shanhaiguan so their forces could enter Xujialing. Thus Zhang Zuolin would need to gather his forces near Shanhaiguan to capture it. This task fell to his 1st and 2nd army led by Jiang Dengxuan and Zhang Xueliang. If Shanhaiguan could not be taken, at least two brigades would be needed in the Qiansuo region, where a railroad station was roughly 20 kms east of Shanhaiguan. Once that region was secured, the main force could redeploy around Suizhong county for a second attempt against Shanhaiguan. Next the 2nd army would advance into Rehe, Yi County and Dayaogou. They would then take Chaoyang, Jianping, Chengde and Lingyuan. Most of this responsibility fell onto Zhang Zongchang's 3rd Combined Brigade and Li Jinglin's 1st Division. After they completed this they would enter the Lengkou pass and take Luanzhou. A Fengtian cavalry group would attack Rehe with the objective of taking Chifeng. The cavalry group would also cover the flank of other Fengtian forces and mop up the enemy left behind. If the situation arose, the Cavalry group could also attack along the Great Wall via the Xifengkou or Gubeikou pass. The Fengtian reserve forces would be deployed between Xingcheng and Suizhong to guard Jinzhou. The Fengtian air forces headquartered at Shenyang would mobilize 3 groups for the war effort under the direct command of the 1st and 2nd Armies known as the Combined Corps. Other air units would be deployed to Yi county under the command of Zhang Xueliang. Wu Peifu took the title of commander in chief and set up his headquarters in Sizhaotang. Wu Peifu made special arrangements for the battle; his 1st army led by Peng Shouxin would take an eastern route advancing along the Beijing-Fengcheng line to attack Liaoshen from Shanhaiguan; the 2nd army of Wang Huaiqing would advance along the middle route from Xikou to attack Rechao; and the third army of Feng Yuxiang would take the western route from Gubeikou to attack Kailu. Wu Peifu also had set up a commander in chief of maritime defense Zheng Shiqi stationed at Shandong and a naval commander in chief Du Xiui. His air force was organized into 4 groups stationed in Beidaihe, Luanxian, Chaoyang and the Zhili aviation department, over 70 aircraft in total.  On September the 14th, Zhang Zuolin as commander in chief of the Fengtian army led them down the border area. Likewise Wu Peifu did the same from Luoyang. On the 15th the 23rd Brigade of Li Shuangkai, part of Li Jinglin's 2nd army engaged the Zhili 4th battalion of Yijun Zhenbiao around Yizhou, Jiuguan and Taimen. This effectively kicked off the war. From there the war front would run from Chaoyang to Jidong, with major battles taking place in Rehe, Shanhaiguan, Chaoyang, Chifeng, Jiumenmen and Shimenzhai.  The Fengtian forces planned to unleash their offensive against Shanhaiguan once the initiative was won in Rehe. Therefore Zhang Zuolin personally led the battle in Rehe. The 1st Fengtian army divided into a north and south group. The southern group attacked from Beizhen, passing through Chaoyang and Lingyuang to enter Xifengkou with Wu Junsheng's cavalry as the main force. The north group ran from Tongliao to Kailu, then headed south to Chengde via Chifeng, then would launch an attack at the western part of Xifengkou.  The southern attack went pretty smooth as the Zhili army did not put up serious resistance. On the 16th the Fengtian forces seized Yizhou and Fuxin. After this they concentrated their attacks against Chaoyang. Liu Fufu defended Chaoyang with the Zhili 26th brigade of the 12th division, but he only put up a symbolic defense, quickly abandoning the city. On the 23rd Chaoyang was occupied by Fengtian forces who scoured the county. Meanwhile the northern group attacked Jianping, Lingyuan and Chifeng. During the battle for Lingyuan, the Fengtian encountered determined resistance from Zhili forces led by Wang Huaiqing and Dong Zhengguo. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Fengtian managed to take the city. Simultaneously the 2nd Fengtian army forces led by Xu Lanzhou and Wu Guangxin attacked Chifeng. The battle for the city raged for a few days seeing Fengtian air forces bomb the city until October 8th when it was captured. The fall of Chifeng marked a decisive moment in the battle for Rehe, the Fengtian had taken the initiative. Now the leading Fengtian troops began a rapid advance towards Lengkou at the foot of the Great Wall. Both sides knew the entire battle depended on Shanhaiguan. The Zhili had heavily fortified it and following the loss of Rehe they continued to strengthen it. Wu Peifu dispatched Peng Shouxin to setup the defenses of Shanhaiguan. Zhang Zuolin had Jiang Dengxuan and Zhang Xueliang form a new headquarters near Shanhaiguan as Guo Songling led the 2nd and 6th Brigades to frontally attack it. As Guo Songling did so, Jiang Dengxuan  and his deputy commander Han Linchun led the 4th and 16th brigades to face the Zhili forces north of Jiumenmen. Small scale battles broke out on the 17th that gradually escalated. On the 29th and 30th, the Fengtian began unleashing artillery and aerial bombardment upon the Zhili positions between Shanhaiguan and Changli. During that process the Fengtian forces seized Wanjiatun, Longwang Temple, Yaojiazhuang and other towns. By October 4th the Fentgian army approached the position of the Zhili 15th division. On the 7th Zhang Zuolin issued a general attack order, sending Fengtian forces across the board. The first line of Zhili troops relied on the solid fortifications and fired back upon the advancing enemy. The Fengtian gradually turned their attention to the Jiumenmen Gate located at the northwest part of the Shanhaiguan pass. On the 8th Jiang Dengxuan personally led the 19th Brigade to attack the Haungtu Ridge on the northside of Jiumenmen. His forces quickly encircled Jiumenmen before the 2nd and 6th brigades stormed and occupied it. The fall of Jiumenmen severed demoralized the Zhili defenders whose lines began to waiver. The Fengtian began breaching lines, capturing Liyu, Waiyu, Xiangmayu and now outflanked Shanhaiguan. At this point a brigade was sent to attack Shimenzhai along the north side of Jiumentou. Shimenzhai is roughly 25 kms away from Shanhaiguan, if captured the Fengtian could use it as a springboard to attack Qinhuangdao, cutting off the Zhili armies line of retreat. In order to protect the line of retreat, Peng Shouxin organized a force to reinforce Shimenzhai. On the 11th, Wu Peifu came over to Shanhaiguan, while also inspecting Shimenzhai, Zhaojiayu, Shahezhai and other significant Zhili positions. Seeing Jiumenmen had fallen, Wu Peifu ordered forces to recapture it on the 14th. The Fengtian defenders there were put into a desperate battle to hold onto it. On the 15th, a Fengtian regiment led by Sun Xuchang broke through the Zhili defensive line. On the 16th the Fengtian forces surged through the breach and stormed Shimenzhai. The Zhili forces routed in the area allowing the Fengtian forces to quickly seize Liujiang. On the 17th Zheng Xizhen led the Zhili 6th brigade to reinforce the battlefield emerging north of Qinhuangdao. Now we need to take a step away from the battle, because a lot of things were happening all over the place, that would have a deep impact on the war. While all of this was going on in the far north, in the south, Dr Sun Yat-Sen personally led the KMT forces north to try and prevent Zhili commander Sun Chuanfang from reinforcing his Zhili comrades in the north. Yet like again, in a fashion that just kept recurring, an issue came about. The Guangzhou merchants corps and forces led loyal to Chen Jiongming began an uprising in Guangzhou. Sun Yat Sen was forced to turn his army back to quell the rebellion. As Sun Yat-Sen pulled back, Sun Chuanfang had brought his forces into Zhejiang and Shanghai.  Meanwhile another ploy on the part of Zhang Zuolin paid off big time. The christian general Feng Yuxiang who was commanding the Zhili 3rd army began making some trouble. When the Zhili 2nd army suffered its initial defeat, Wang Huaiqing sent word asking for help from Feng Yuxiang. Instead he ordered his 3rd army to stay put at the Gubeikou pass.  Now back in the battle Wu Peifu had come to the front lines and was taking charge of operations. Zhili reinforcements arrived from Henan and Shanxi led by Zhang Fulai and began helping a counter attack against Shimenzhai. The Fengtian defenders also reinforced their lines, with Jiang Dengxuan taking command of the front lines personally. Despite the reinforcements, the Fengtian defenses were beginning to crumble, their casualties mounting. At the same time the main Fengtian forces were fighting at Shanhaiguan, failing to make progress. Then the Fengtian army received unconfirmed intelligence from the Japanese, that the Zhili clique had enlisted the Zhengji shipping company to use 13 transports to move 4 divisions directly into the rear of the Fengtian forces via the Taku Forts. The Japanese intelligence did not indicate where the landings would be made however. The Fengtian commanders believed it was possibly Yingkou or Huludao, perhaps both. Many Fengtian commanders called for deploying the general reserve as a rear guard, but the deputy chief of the general staff, Fu Xingpei opposed the idea, claiming the Jiumenkou sector required them. Yang Yuting the chief of the general staff worried the terrain of Jiumenkou was far too narrow and restrictive to deploy such large number of troops. Finally Zhang Zuolin ended the debate by ordering the General Reserve, under the command of Zhang Zuoxiang to rush to Jiumenkou. Despite committing the General reserve, things did not improve. In fact some interpersonal problems emerged. Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling had secretly redeployed 8 infantry regiments and two artillery brigades from Shanhaiguan to the Jiumenkou sector. These units were to be led by Guo Songling, but the artillery battalion commander, Yan Zongzhou, a classmate of Guo Songling was removed from command by the artillery regiment commander Chen Chen. Upon hearing the news from Yan Zongzhou, enraged Guo Songling removed Chen Chen of command and gave it back to Yan Zongzhou. However Jiang Dengxuan and Han Linchun had given approval to Chen Chen when he asked to remove Yan Zongzhou, so now they were embarrassed. They then complained to Zhang Zuolin about Guo Songling's actions. Zhang Zuolin ordered both Chen Chen and Yan Zongzhou to go back to their original commands, and this only pissed off Guo Songling more. Like a kindergarten aged child Guo Songling took his 8th infantry regiment out of the battlefield and retreated to the rear. Zhang Xueliang then hunted him down and smooth-talked him to come back and engage the enemy. This entire stupid situation could have very well cost them the battle, fortunately it happened at night and the Zhili army none the wiser did not exploit the situation.  Back over in the Rehe front, Zhang Zongchang stormed the Lengkou pass against 4 Zhili divisions; the 9th led by Dong Zhengguo, the 20th led by Yan Zhitang, the 1st Shaanxi division led by Hu Jingyi and the 23rd led by Wang Chengbin. Unfortunately Wang Chengbin and Hu Jingyi had formed a pact with Feng Yuxiang and literally stepped aside during Zhang Zongchangs attack. To add insult to injury, Yan Zhitang and Dong Zhengguo hated each other and each held back to preserve their own strength. Again in the warlord era, petty warlords would pull this kind of shit all the time. As Zheng Zongchangs forces attacked, basically everyone fled Lengkou. Seizing the opportunity Zhang Zongchang pushed even deeper into the enemy lines. It was around this time, word spread that the First Jiangsu-Zhejiang War had concluded in a Zhili victory, thus it seemed if Shanhaiguan was not taken swiftly, the Zhili would win the war.  Yet the dark horse that was General Feng Yuxiang struck. On October 22nd, Feng Yuxiang betrayed the Zhili Clique. Feng Yuxiang formed a truce with the Fengtian commander Li Jingling on the night of October 20th. He then suddenly withdrew 8000 troops of Wu Peifu's 3rd and 26th Divisions, leaving only 4000 men at their defensive lines. He took said troops and secretly stormed Beijing where he performed a coup against President Cao Kun. At midnight on October 23rd the commander of the Beijing guards, Sun Yueh admitted Feng Yuxiang and his men into Beijing. Together they seized control over  key government buildings and gates. Feng Yuxiang then forced Cao Kun to dismiss Wu Peifu from his military positions. stripped him of the presidency and placed him under house arrest. Afterwards Feng Yuxiang issued a public statement denouncing the civil war and urged the warlords to settle their differences via negotiations. Feng Yuxiangs subordinates then took control of the railway line between Tientsin and Shanhaiguan and the railway line at Changhsintian south of Beijing. Meanwhile Yan Xishan dispatched a force from Shanxi to seize the railway junction at Shihchiachuang, blocking any movement from Hunan along the Peking-Hankou railway. Thus Qi Xieyuan and Sun Chuanfang could no longer advance north to aid Wu Peifu. Back at the battle, Zhang Zongchang saw the thinning of the defensive lines when Feng Yuxiang pulled men out and stormed it alongside Li Jinglin. Their forces broke through and advanced south along the Luan River towards Luanzhou, then in the direction of Tianjin. They seized the train station at Luanzhou as Sun Xuchang's 10th Brigade captured Jiumenkou. The Fengtian cavalry then stormed the Xifengkou pass and pushed forward. By this point the Zhili morale had all but disappeared as news of Feng Yuxiang's coup in Beijing was spreading along the lines. Even cry baby Guo Songling, hearing the news, grabbed his force and performed an all out charge into the Zhili lines breaking through and advanced eastwards. Now cut off between Qinhuangdao and Shanhaiguan, on the 31st of October, many high ranking Zhili officers began fleeing via ships at Qinhuangdao. Countless Zhili forces were surrounded and began mass surrendering. Wu Peifu meanwhile fled first to Tianjin where he began frantically telegraphing Zhili armies in Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei and Zhejiang for help. Things got even worse, more railway lines were cut by Anhui clique members such as Zheng Shiqi in Shandong, Cangzhou and Machang. Likewise Zheng Shishangs cut lines of the Jinpu railway at Hanzhuang and even Yan Xishan came out of his turtle shell to cut the Jinghan railway line at Shijiazhuang. The Fengtian army overran Tangshan and Lutai asFeng Yuxiang's forces stormed Yangcun and Beicang, forcing Wu Peifu to flee to Junliangcheng. Then Duan Qiriu sent a message to Wu Peifu advising he should depart by sea. Completely surrounded with no allies, Wu Peifu fled with 2000 troops on the transport Huajia on November 3rd. He went to Tanggu where Sun Chuanfang defended him.  It had been the most impressive war of the warlord period to that point. Nearly 450,000 troops had been involved in a month-long war along the Great Wall area from Shanhaiguan to Beijing. The casualties are tough to estimate, perhaps 20-30,000 perished. After taking Beijing, Feng Yuxiang reorganized his forces in the 1st Guominjun army, hiring his co-conspirators such as Sun Yueh and Hu Chingyi who would eventually lead the 2nd and 3rd armies. On November 5th, Zhang Zuolin removed Emperor Puyi from the Forbidden City. Puyi went into exile in Tianjin where the Japanese would keep a close eye upon.  Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang and Duan Qiriu then met in Tianjin where they agreed to form a provisional government with Duan Qiriu as its figurehead. The choice of Duan Qiriu seemed to be palatable to everyone, including the remaining Zhili warlords in the Yangtze region. On December 9th, Duan Qiriu's government was recognized. Dr Sun Yat-Sen of course refused to recognize the new Beiyang government and would begin to flirt more with the CCP and their larger backer, the Soviet Union.  For now the Beiyang government, for whatever it was actually worth, remained in the hands of three players. Duan Qiriu who no longer possessed a strong army, Feng Yuxiang who had just shown himself to be quite a treacherous man and did not wield a very strong army and lastly Zhang Zuolin who now wielded the largest army in China, was backed by Japan and controlled vast sums of territory.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. So the First Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Second Zhili-Fengtian Wars were now over. It seems Zhang Zuolin had just become king of the hill, but what did that mean for China? Would Zhang Zuolin pursue a policy of reunifying China? Would he expand south? Or would the chaos continue, what do you think?