On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week with a day in the red, falling 0.6% to 6,062.9 points.
Despite this sizeable decline the benchmark index still managed to carve out a gain of 1.8% for the week.
Will there be similar gains this week? Here are five things that could impact Monday's trade.
ASX futures are pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures the Australian share market is expected to open higher by 38 points or 0.6% on Monday. This follows strong gains in U.S. markets on Friday night that saw the Dow Jones close 1.4% higher, the S&P 500 climb 1.3%, and the NASDAQ rise a sizeable 1.7%. Strong gains in the tech sector helped lift U.S. markets.
Westpac due to release its results.
Last week National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) all released their respective results. The three banks all delivered solid results and two of the three achieved results ahead of the market's expectations. This morning Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) will release its half-year results, with the market looking for earnings per share of $1.19.
Tech shares could be on the rise.
The shares of Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) could have a strong day of trade on Monday after U.S. markets were lifted by strong gains in the tech sector. Apple was arguably the highlight on Friday with a 4% push higher.
Oil prices continue to climb higher.
The likes of BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) will be on watch on Monday after oil prices continued to climb higher. According to Bloomberg, Brent crude oil rose 1.7% to US$74.87 a barrel and WTI crude oil rose 1.9% to US$69.72 a barrel on Friday.
Local data releases.
This morning the NAB Business Conditions and Confidence survey will be released, giving investors an indication of the state of the economy from the perspective of business owners. Rival bank ANZ Bank will also release its job advertisements data for the month of April. SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) shareholders may want to keep an eye out for that one.
