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Wall St closed higher across the major averages on Monday as investors bought back into the AI darlings a week after scepticism rose around the sustainable growth of the sector. The S&P500 gained 0.2%, the Nasdaq rose 0.48% and the Dow Jones ended Monday’s session up 0.15%. Shares of game maker EA Games rallied 4.5% after the company announced it’s going to be taken private in an acquisition worth US$55bn.

In Europe overnight markets closed higher to start the new trading week in the green. The STOXX600 rose 0.34%, Germany’s DAX added 0.02%, the French CAC climbed 0.13% and, in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day up 0.16%.

Across the Asia region on Monday markets closed mixed with Japan’s Nikkei falling 0.69%, while South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.33%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.9% and China’s CSI index gained 1.54%.

Locally to start the new trading week, a healthcare rebound pushed the ASX to a positive close with the key index rallying 0.9% while the spot price of gold also reset a fresh record, propelling gold miners to new heights.

Defence stocks were all the rage for investors yesterday with DroneShield soaring over 18% while EOS climbed almost 13% amid a tense backdrop in Europe with NATO boosting air-defence assets in response to new drone incursions at a key military base in Denmark last week. EOS also released a sales update yesterday revealing it is expecting full year revenue from existing contracts to be $115m to $125m in FY25 however, new orders could boost this by $25m in addition to its contract backlog with an estimated value of $299m.

Synlait Milk share jumped 15% following the release of the company’s full-year results yesterday. The dairy processor reported a more than twofold increase in underlying EBITDA, reaching NZ$107.2 million for FY 2025. Additionally, Synlait announced an agreement to sell its North Island assets to global healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories in a deal expected to generate around NZ$307 million in proceeds.

What to watch today:

• On the commodities front this morning oil is trading 3.86% lower at US$63.18/barrel; gold is up 1.63% at a fresh record US$3829/ounce and iron ore is down 0.09% at US$105.35/tonne.
• The Aussie dollar has strengthened against the greenback to buy 65.78 US cents, 97.75 Japanese yen, 48.91 British pence and 1 New Zealand dollar and 14 cents.
• Ahead of Tuesday’s trading session here in Australia the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX will open the day up 0.17%.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has raised the 12-month price target on Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) from $5.70 to $11 and maintain a buy rating on the Australian defence manufacturer specialising in advanced weapon systems and satellite tracking technology company following an update out yesterday including revenue guidance weaker than Bell Potter expected in the near term but strong tailwinds driving the long-term growth of the sector. Bell Potter has upgraded the 12-month TP reflecting a higher CY26e EV/EBITDA multiple due to strengthened confidence in longer term revenue growth.
• Trading Central has identified a bearish signal on HMC Capital (ASX:HMC) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 29-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may fall from the close of $3.23 to the range of $2.55 to $2.65 according to standard principles of technical analysis.