On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) bounced back from its poor run with a solid 0.3% gain to 6,179.6 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 0.2% or 11 points higher on Friday. This is despite it being a mixed night of trade on Wall Street which late in the session sees the Dow Jones trading flat, the S&P 500 down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 0.1% lower.
Oil prices mixed.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares will be on watch today after U.S. oil prices continued their rise but the benchmark Brent crude oil price tumbled lower. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.5% to US$58.57 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has dropped 0.5% to US$67.20 a barrel.
Shares going ex-dividend.
A number of shares are due to go ex-dividend again this morning and are likely to trade lower. This includes healthcare company Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) and mining and mining services company Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN). Healius is paying a 3.8 cents per share interim dividend and Mineral Resources is paying a 13 cents per share interim dividend.
Gold price sinks lower.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares could come under pressure on Friday after the gold price sank lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has dropped 1% to US$1,296.40 an ounce after no-deal Brexit fears faded. Elsewhere, the silver price is down 1.75% and the copper price has fallen 1.5%.
Qantas shares rated as a buy.
The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price has been tipped by Goldman Sachs to climb to $7.24 over the next 12 months. The broker has held firm with its buy rating despite BITRE data pointing to weak trading in March. However, this has been put down to the timing of events and holidays.
