On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and sank notably lower ahead of the public holiday. The benchmark index fell 2.5% to 6,961.6 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Thursday following a volatile night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 points or 0.25% higher this morning. After storming higher for much of the day, the Dow Jones fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 is dropped 0.15%, and the Nasdaq ended up flat.
Tech shares on watch
Tech shares including Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Block, Inc. (ASX: SQ2) will be on watch on Thursday after the tech-focused Nasdaq index stormed higher and then gave back its gains shortly before the close. The Nasdaq index was up as much as 2.6% gain in late trade before finishing flat. This led to the Block share price on the NYSE swinging from a 3.5% gain to a 3.5% decline in the space of an hour.
Oil prices rise
Energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a solid day after oil prices pushed higher again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$87.39 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$90.02 a barrel. The latter hit the US$90 mark for the first time since 2014 amid tight supplies.
Fortescue named as a sell
The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price could be heading materially lower according to the team at Goldman Sachs. In response to its second quarter update, the broker has reiterated its sell rating and lowly $13.50 price target. The broker notes that its shares are trading at 1.65x net asset value (NAV), which is notably higher than its two largest peers at 0.9x NAV.
Gold price falls
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a tough day after the gold price dropped. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 1.1% to US$1,831.4 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after the US Federal Reserve indicated that a rate hike is coming in March.
