A strong open is in store for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) after a surge in oil prices overnight. This follows OPEC's decision to cut production – the first such deal since 2008.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.61%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.74%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.77%
- Dow Jones (USA): up 0.61%
- NASDAQ (USA): up 0.24%
Energy shares such as BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could be among the biggest winners today.
Oil prices surged more than 5%, which could also bode well for Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG), Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) and Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY), amongst others.
Spot gold, on the other hand, continued to decline which could weigh on Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC) further.
In the education sector, Intueri Education Group Ltd (ASX: IQE) shares soared on Wednesday but remain well below the level they started the week at.
Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) had a better day on Wednesday as well, and investors will look for further gains today. Meanwhile, AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) climbed 5.8% during yesterday's session and could receive some attention from investors.
