On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index bounced back from a weak start to finish the day an impressive 0.65% higher at 6,176.1 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and finish the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to edge higher.
The Australian share market looks set to have a positive day of trade. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 6 points or 0.1% higher this morning. This follows a positive night on Wall Street which late in the session sees the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all up 0.3%.
Oil prices mixed.
Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares will be on watch on Friday after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has dropped 0.1% to US$59.36 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has edged ever so slightly higher to US$67.86 a barrel. Prices remained stable despite a tweet by President Trump urging OPEC to increase production.
QANTM IP hits back at IPH.
On Thursday the ACCC said it would not oppose the proposed IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH) acquisition of fellow intellectual property services company Xenith IP Group Ltd (ASX: XIP). Last night QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd (ASX: QIP) was quick to hit back to reiterate its belief that its QANTM-Xenith merger is better and represents compelling value.
NIB upgraded.
The NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price could be on the move on Friday after Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to neutral from sell. After a pullback in its share price in March, Goldman believes NIB's valuation now better reflects the risks it faces over the near term. The broker has a price target of $5.48 on its shares.
Dividends being paid.
A number of blue chip shares are paying their latest dividends today. These include regional bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), energy retailer Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG), private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), and telco giant Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).
