Welcome to Monday and the start of a new week and month. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.
- The S&P/ ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened 0.4% lower, dragged down by the big miners and oil stocks again, despite flat leads from offshore markets on Friday.US markets were little changed on Friday, following the Thanksgiving Holiday, with the Dow Jones flat, the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ up 0.1%.
- Energy stocks look set to fall in early trade today, after world oil benchmarks crashed below US$70 per barrel. WTI Crude Oil was trading at US$66 a barrel, while Brent Oil had managed to recover some of the fall to trade at US$70.15 a barrel.BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Santos Limited (ASX: STO), Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Beach Energy Limited (ASX: BPT) could all see their share prices hit when trading opens today.
On the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, BHP's ADRs fell 6.8%, while Woodside's ADRs dropped more than 10%.
Like the iron ore price, investors will be watching to see if oil prices continue to fall, or manage to stabilise. That may be some way off yet, with analysts predicting lower oil prices in the weeks ahead.
- Medibank Private Limited (ASX MPL) could also be in the news this week as retail investors get confirmation of how many shares they own, and some begin to sell out.Shares in the recently-IPO'd private health insurer, closed on Friday at $2.17, an 8.5% premium to the price retail investors paid.
- Tweet of the Day
Top stock picks for December $WOW $LAU $WPL $FMG $CGF #ausbiz https://t.co/OijJWxxNW6
The Motley Fool Aust (@TheMotleyFoolAu) November 30, 2014
Several Motley Fool writers select their best stocks pick for December. - Stock of the Day – brought to you by Ryan Newman – BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP). With iron ore and oil prices falling, analysts have taken the red pen to their earning's forecasts for the Big Australian. But can the company surprise the market in 2015? Find out more here.
