On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) gave back its morning gains to end the day a disappointing 0.2% lower at 5,910.8 points following heavy declines in the banking sector.
Will the local share market bounce back on Friday? Here are five things that could shape today's trade:
ASX futures point to the market opening higher.
According to the latest SPI futures the Australian share market is poised to open the day 48 points or 0.8% higher on Friday. This mirrors strong gains that were seen on U.S. markets overnight after the tech sector rallied higher. The Dow Jones closed 1.1% higher, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.1% higher, and the NASDAQ pushed 1.8% higher.
Tech shares could be set for a strong day.
The shares of Australia's leading tech companies including Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) could be set to have a strong day of trade after U.S. tech shares surged higher. Facebook was the highlight with a 9.1% gain overnight. It was closely followed by Amazon which is notably higher in after-hours trading following the release of a stronger-than-expected quarterly result.
ResMed beats estimates.
Sleep treatment company ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) is likely to push higher on Friday after its quarterly results beat expectations. ResMed achieved earnings per share of 92 US cents on revenue of US$591.6 million. Revenue was up a solid 15.1% on the prior corresponding period. I think this result demonstrates why the company is one of the best buy and hold options on the local share market.
Australian banks will be on watch.
Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shareholders will be hoping for a rebound during Friday trade. Both banks fell to multi-year lows on Thursday. Westpac has, however, been tipped by UBS to sink as low as $26.50 over the next 12 months on the back of concerns over the quality of its mortgage book.
Dividends being paid.
Eligible shareholders of companies including Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP), Cedar Woods Properties Limited (ASX: CWP), OceanaGold Corp (ASX: OGC), and WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM) are due to be paid their respective dividends this morning. Whereas the shares of AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) will go ex-dividend.
