On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recovered from some early weakness to finish the day mostly flat. The benchmark index fell 2.3 points to 6,681.9 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to edge higher.
The Australian share market looks set to edge higher on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 3 points higher this morning. This follows a better night of trade on Wall Street. In late trade the Dow Jones is up 0.7%, the S&P 500 is up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq has risen 0.8%.
Oil prices jump.
It looks set to be a great day for energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices jumped higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 5.1% to US$50.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has stormed 5.1% higher to US$53.70 a barrel. This follows news that Saudi Arabia will cut production by 1 million barrels a day.
Zip AsiaPay partnership.
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price will be on watch after it signed a partnership with AsiaPay in the Australian market. AsiaPay is the leading digital payment service and technology player in Asia. The deal will see AsiaPay offer merchants in Australia the ability to accept digital mobile wallet payment via Zip, with a simple, secure, and private way to pay that's fast and convenient.
Gold price rises again.
Gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) could be on the rise again after the gold price pushed higher again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has risen 0.35% to US$1,953.70 an ounce. A weaker US dollar helped drive the precious metal higher.
Australian dollar jumps.
The Australian dollar is jumping higher again after the US dollar weakened further overnight. At the time of writing, the Australian dollar is up 1.3% to 77.7 U.S. cents. This could be good news for importers, but a headwind for companies that generate a lot of revenue in US dollars. The latter includes Appen Limited (ASX: APX) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).
