5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Premier Investments Limited (ASX:PMV) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) shares will be on watch on the ASX 200 on Friday…

watch

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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and dropped notably lower following heavy declines by tech and gold miner shares. The benchmark index fell 0.8% to 5,875.9 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 futures pointing higher.

It looks set to be a better day of trade for the ASX 200 index on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to rise 6 points or 0.1% at the open. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.2%, the S&P 500 climb 0.3%, and the Nasdaq index push 0.4% higher.

Oil prices mixed.

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will be on watch today after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$40.18 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down slightly to US$41.76 a barrel. Traders appear undecided on oil prices amid falling inventories but concerns over demand.

Gold price recovers.

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) could be on the rise today after the gold price recovered after a series of declines. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.3% to US$1,873.40 an ounce. The precious metal tumbled to a two-month low during Thursday's trade.

Premier Investments full year results.

The Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) share price will be one to watch this morning when it hands in its full year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect the company to report net profit after tax of $152.2 million on a pre-AAB16 basis or $138.8 million adjusted for AASB-16. The latter is up 11.1% year on year. Goldman is also forecasting a fully franked 20 cents per share final dividend, down from 37 cents per share a year earlier.

Westpac rated as a buy.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their buy rating on Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares after it announced a $1.3 billion settlement with AUSTRAC. The broker has a $19.80 price target on the banking giant's shares. It commented: "With this significant overhang for the stock now behind it, at a digestible incremental financial cost, we expect the stock to begin to re-rate (currently trades at a 17% PER discount to peers, versus in line historically), and reiterate our Buy."

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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