On Wednesday the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) ended a turbulent day of trade on a positive note. It closed the day 0.4% higher at 5,830.3 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the S&P/ASX 200 is expected to open the day higher by 0.4% or 23 points on Thursday. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones rise 1%, the S&P 500 climb 1.2%, and the Nasdaq push 2% higher.
National Australia Bank results.
On Wednesday Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) released a solid full year result, much to the relief of investors. Today it will be the turn of National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) to release its numbers for FY 2018. A recent note out of Goldman Sachs revealed that it expects the banking giant to post cash earnings of $5,774 million (pre-one-offs), down 13.1% on the prior corresponding period. This compares to the Bloomberg consensus of $5,764 million. Goldman expects its final dividend to remain flat at 99 cents per share.
Woolworths first quarter sales update.
Retail conglomerate Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is scheduled to release its first quarter sales update this morning. Another note out of Goldman Sachs shows that the broker expects Woolworths to reveal a weak start to FY 2019. It has forecast revenues of $14,600 million, up just 0.5% on the prior corresponding period. It estimates comparable sales from its Australian Food segment of 1%.
Crown annual general meeting.
The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price will be on watch on the day of its annual general meeting. The casino and resorts company is expected to provide a trading update on its performance so far in FY 2019. Industry peer Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) is also holding its meeting, along with fund manager Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT).
Corporate Travel Management shares will be on watch.
The Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price is another that investors will be watching closely. It fell a massive 27% on Wednesday despite the release of a comprehensive rebuttal to VGI Partners' short seller report. Some investors expect VGI Partners to come back for a second bite, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if it made a swift exit from this one and be thankful for yesterday's panic selloff.
