On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) ended the week on a high by climbing 0.4% to 6,207.6 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the local market is expected to open the week lower by 23 points or 0.4%. This follows a mixed end to the week on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones edge 0.1% higher, the S&P 500 slide a touch lower, and the Nasdaq trade relatively flat. Trading volumes are likely to be lower today due to public holidays across much of the country.
Oil prices zoom higher.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares were amongst the best performers on the market last week and could be set to build on this on Monday after oil prices zoomed higher again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 1.6% to US$73.25 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed almost 1.7% to US$82.73 a barrel. Oil prices pushed higher after the global supply cushion vanished.
Banks shares will be on watch.
Australian bank shares such as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) will be on watch after analysts and investors had time to digest the 1,000 pages of the interim report from the Royal Commission. The early indications are that the report wasn't as bad as some feared.
Helloworld selldown.
The shares of Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) will be on watch after reports that Ord Minnett sold 7 million shares at $5.50 each to institutions including Fidelity at the end of the week. According to the AFR, the Burnes family and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) sold down their stakes in order to boost liquidity and ensure it has the market's support for when it needs it. Fund managers believe the increased liquidity could put it on a path to being included in the ASX 300.
Shares going ex-dividend.
This morning the shares of financial services company Money3 Corporation Limited (ASX: MNY) and receivables company Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP) will go ex-dividend for their latest pay outs. Eligible shareholders of Money3 can look forward to being paid this dividend on October 23, whereas Credit Corp's is due to be paid on October 10.
