On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index returned to form thanks to positive trade war developments and charged 0.9% higher to 6,613.2 points.
Will the Australian share market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 heading higher.
It looks set to be a reasonably positive end to the week for the local share market. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 index is expected to open the day 10 points or 0.15% higher following a very positive night of trade on Wall Street. In the United States the Dow Jones rose 1.4%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.3%, and the Nasdaq zoomed 1.75% higher.
Oil prices mixed.
The shares of energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will be on watch on Friday after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.15% to US$56.17 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.1% to US$60.75 a barrel. WTI crude oil prices slipped lower despite a decline in U.S. inventories.
Tech shares on watch.
Australian tech shares such as Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) could be on the rise on Friday after their U.S. counterparts stormed higher. On Wall Street the technology-focused Nasdaq index surged 1.75% after the United States and China agreed to hold trade talks next month.
Gold price sinks.
Unfortunately, the positive trade war news has led to a significant drop in demand for safe haven assets such as gold, which could put pressure on the shares of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) this morning. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 2.15% to US$1,527.20 an ounce.
Shares going ex-dividend.
Yet another group of shares are scheduled to trade ex-dividend this morning and could edge lower. This includes logistics solutions company WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). In addition to this, JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) will be paying its final fully franked 51 cents per share dividend to eligible shareholders.
