On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and sank notably lower. The benchmark index fell 0.8% to 5,859.4 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise.
It looks set to be a better day of trade for the ASX 200 index. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to start the week higher. Current futures contracts are pointing to a 4-point or 0.1% gain at the open. This follows a reasonably positive night of trade on Wall Street on Friday which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.5%, the S&P 500 edge slightly higher, and the Nasdaq fall 0.6%.
Oil prices mixed.
Energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch today after a mixed night of trade for oil prices on Friday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.1% to US$37.33 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 0.6% to US$39.83 a barrel. Oil prices recorded their second straight week of declines.
Tech shares on watch.
Tech shares including Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) could start the week in the red after their U.S. counterparts continued their slide. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index tumbled 0.6% lower on Friday night and current Nasdaq futures are pointing to further declines tonight. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has lost 9.3% of its value since the start of the month.
Gold price drops lower.
The shares of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could come under pressure today after the gold price softened. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 0.8% to US$1,947.90 an ounce on Friday night. Despite this decline, the precious metal recorded a small weekly gain due to economic recovery concerns.
Vocus given conviction buy rating.
The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price could be on the rise today after analysts at Goldman Sachs put the telco on its conviction buy list. Goldman believes Vocus delivered a solid FY 2020 result and constructive FY 2021 guidance. It notes that it is the only telco guiding to growth this year. The broker has a price target of $4.70 on its shares.
