On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week deep in the red. The benchmark index fell 1.2% to 7,347 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to fall again
The Australian share market looks set to continue its slide on Tuesday despite a rebound on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 25 points or 0.35% lower. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.25%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.6%.
Reserve Bank meeting
The Reserve Bank will be holding its most important cash rate meeting in years this afternoon. Opinion is divided on what action the central bank will take, but many in the market believe it could make a 0.5% increase to the cash rate today. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) expects a more modest 15 basis point rise today and 40 basis point rise next month.
Oil prices rise
Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a decent day after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.65% to US$105.38.12 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.65% to US$107.84 a barrel. Oil prices turned positive on supply concerns.
Gold price sinks
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a tough day after the gold price sank overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 2.6% to US$1,861.90 an ounce. The precious metal was sold off after US bond yields rose ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting this week.
Woolworths sales update
The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price will be one to watch today when the retail giant releases its third quarter sales update. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect Woolworths to report group sales of $14.7 billion for the three months. This will be a year on year increase of 6.4%. "We expect the Australian and New Zealand foods division to report +4% and +5.5% comparable growth respectively and for BigW to see -6% decline in comparable sales," it adds.
