On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) started the week with a solid 0.6% gain to 6,025.5 points.
Will the local market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things that could shape today's trade:
ASX futures are pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is expected to open the day lower by 0.4% or 23 points on Tuesday despite another positive day of trade on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 was 0.45% higher, and the NASDAQ started the week with a 0.7% gain.
Reserve Bank of Australia meeting.
Later today the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet to decide on the cash rate. According to Reuters, the central bank is expected to keep rates on hold at the record low of 1.5% once again. Rates have been on hold since August 2016 and are not expected to rise until November of next year at the earliest according to a poll of economists.
Australian dollar zooms higher.
Despite there being no sign of a rise to the cash rate any time soon, strong local economic data on Monday was enough to send the local currency highert. Both retail sales and corporate profits data beat expectations and have led to the Australian dollar rising 1.1% to 76.5 U.S. cents. This could be good news for companies that import goods such as Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) and Reject Shop Ltd (ASX: TRS).
Oil prices continue to fall.
Oil producers including BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH), and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure on Tuesday after oil prices continued to decline. According to Bloomberg, WTI crude oil has fallen a further 1.4% to US$64.88 a barrel and Brent crude oil dropped 1.7% to US$75.46 a barrel.
Commodities mixed.
Oil, gold, and iron ore prices declined yesterday, but there were solid gains for copper and aluminium on the London Metal Exchange. This could make the shares of OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) and Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) worth watching on Tuesday.
