The Sydney Futures Exchange indicates that the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) may follow Wall Street lower today due to a further pullback in crude oil prices.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): down 0.3%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.5%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.16%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.42%
- NASDAQ (USA): down 0.05%
Oil prices have trended sharply lower over the last month or so, acting as a drag on the energy sector. That trend could continue today, which could impact shares of businesses such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP).
Meanwhile, gold continued to decline overnight as the US dollar continued to gain strength. Shares such as St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) were hit hard on Monday and could be worth watching again today.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will also be on the market's radar after it said its net profit had risen 65% compared to the previous financial year to $151.4 million (unaudited). It also increased its final dividend from 3 cents to 4 cents per share.
Elsewhere, investors will likely be running a ruler over Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) after its meteoric gains yesterday. The retail giant helped lift the ASX 200 to a fresh 2016 high yesterday following an update it provided on its operations.
They'll also be watching Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW). The chocolate manufacturer's shares reversed some of their earlier losses as the day wore on yesterday, but still closed heavily in the red.
SAI Global Limited (ASX: SAI) has been in the news this morning, with The AFR's Street Talk reporting that it is preparing to auction off its second largest business unit, Assurance Services. It's reportedly expected to be worth around $400 million.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has launched a NZ$250 million subordinated notes offer to raise tier 2 regulatory capital to satisfy requirements set by APRA. The offer is being made exclusive to investors resident in New Zealand.
Finally, Data#3 Limited (ASX: DTL) shares rallied 12.6% on Monday thanks to a positive earnings update. They could have even further to run today after the technology provider announced the successful deployment of a next-generation Cisco network service for Edith Cowen University.
