On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and charged higher. The benchmark index ended the day 0.5% higher at 7,431.4 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 futures pointing lower
The Australian share market is poised give back some of its gains on Wednesday. This follows a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 21 points or 0.3% lower this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, and the Nasdaq tumbled 1.2%.
Virgin Money UK Q3 update
The Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK) share price could push higher today following the after-hours release of its third quarter update. The UK bank reported a 0.7% increase in mortgages to 58.7 billion pounds and a 2.5% lift in personal lending to 5.2 billion pounds. Another positive was a small increase in its net interest margin to 168bps. Virgin Money shares on the London Stock Exchange rose 2% overnight, compared to a 0.4% decline by the FTSE.
Oil prices mixed
Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch on Wednesday after a mixed night for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.2% to US$71.79 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.1% to US$74.58 a barrel. Undersupply forecasts were offset by COVID concerns.
Oil Search given buy rating
The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price could be in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker put a buy rating and $5.15 price target on the energy producer's shares following its second quarter update. Goldman said: "OSH retains the highest oil-beta in the sector and the strong oil price outlook helps to reduce balance sheet concerns, where we expect FCF yield of ~15%, which may be a further driver of corporate appeal."
Gold price flat
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) will be on watch after the gold price traded flat. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is fetching US$1,799.7 an ounce. Traders are awaiting comments from the US Federal Reserve when it emerges from its two-day meeting on Wednesday.
