On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index finished the week on a positive note with a gain of 0.2% to 6,669.2 points.
Will the local share market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 poised to edge lower.
The Australian share market looks set to start the week on a subdued note following a mixed end to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 index is expected to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower this morning. On Wall Street the Dow Jones rose 0.15%, the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.
Oil prices on watch.
Energy shares Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will be on watch on Monday after drone attacks on key oil refineries in Saudi Arabia. Although oil prices dropped lower on Friday, they are widely expected to rebound notably higher once markets reopen. According to Bloomberg, on Friday the WTI crude oil price dropped 0.45% to US$54.85 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price fell 0.25% to US$60.22 a barrel.
Gold price tumbles.
It looks set to be a disappointing day of trade for gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after improving investor sentiment sent the gold price tumbling lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price dropped 0.5% to US$1,499.50 an ounce.
Shares trade ex-dividend.
A few shares are due to go ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower this morning. These include investment platform provider HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) and packaging company Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA). Eligible shareholders will be paid these dividends on October 18 and October 21, respectively.
Dividends being paid.
A number of companies are due to pay shareholders their latest dividends this morning. These included administration services company Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), property developer Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC), gold miner Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL), and salary packaging company Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ).
