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In another slower trade day in Week 16, Australian shares are being tipped to open 0.4% lower as Oz traders settle back into quarterlies, half-yearlies, and the simmering China-U.S. trade war lazily bubbles away on the stove.

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A recent monthly Bank of America survey suggested investors “haven’t been this bearish in three decades” – and today’s doldrums do seem to agree.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.2%; the Dow Jones lost 0.4%. The Nasdaq was basically flat.

Conversely, Shanghai advanced +0.15%, while the STOXX added a lofty 1.6%.

It’s probably welcome too – not every week can herald historic swings and collapses.

The China-U.S. trade war could prove a shock to the system sometime this week; the White House most recently told Beijing the “ball is in [its] court” and that they were waiting to hear more about deals with the Red Dragon.

Reporting from Bloomberg hints at China’s ambivalence to that: Beijing reportedly ordered Chinese airlines not to buy more Boeing jets as we ticked mid-week.

Away from the slow-moving trade war, Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR) is returning to live trading today after sitting in suspension for some weeks. The casino operator has lost more than $300 million in the past six months.

When it returns, the Star will be 11cps; that may change quite quickly though.

HotCopper forum users will be watching Meteoric Resources (ASX:MEI) this morning after the miner landed a strong maiden resource estimate for the Bara do Pacu licence at its Caldeira project. (Meteoric already jumped 29% yesterday.)

Another top trender early on Wednesday has been Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL), which just locked in a $4.6M strategic placement with Sumitomo Metal Mining.

Iluka (ASX:ILU), Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR), and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) are among the ASX companies sharing quarterly reports through this morning.

The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) will report its half-yearlies early today too.

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Looking at forex, the Aussie dollar is buying 63.3 US cents.

To commodities, which are in the greenback,

Iron Ore has kept ticking up this week, to $98.75 a tonne in Singapore,

Brent Crude is trading at $64.76,

Gold is trading at $3,237 per ounce, and, 

US natgas futures are at $3.30 per gigajoule.

That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – let’s get trading today.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

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