The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) appears set to slip this morning following a mixed session for international equity markets to end last week. The futures market is pointing to a 2-point decline at the opening bell.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): down 0.26%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.06%
- CAC 40 (France): down 0.02%
- Dow Jones (USA): up 0.06%
- NASDAQ (USA): down 0.59%
The gold price slipped 0.2% and oil was down 1.3%. The latter could weigh on shares in the energy sector, including the likes of Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) today.
That said, BHP Billiton shares could also benefit from a 0.7% rise in the iron ore price which, according to The Metal Bulletin, is now fetching US$78.39 a tonne.
A number of shares that hit fresh highs or lows late last week could also be back on the market's agenda today. The Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) share price was among those plumbing fresh lows with the private hospital operator's shares slipping as low as $1.605.
The Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) share price and Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT) share price also suffered, slipping 7.6% and 4.6% respectively.
On the other hand, the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share prices both hit fresh 52-week highs which could keep them in focus again on Monday.
