On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the week in a positive fashion. The benchmark index rose 0.55% to 7,629 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set for another good session following a strong night on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 22 points or 0.3% higher. On Friday on Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 1.2%, the S&P 500 rose 1.25%, and the Nasdaq jumped 2%. Rate cut hopes were boosted by a softer-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
Oil prices fall
ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a subdued start to the week after oil prices fell on Friday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was down 1.05% to US$78.11 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was down 0.85% to US$82.96 a barrel. This led to the worst weekly performance in three months for oil.
Westpac first-half results
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares will be on watch today when Australia's oldest bank releases its first-half results this morning. The market is expecting the bank to report a 16% decline cash earnings (before one-offs) to $3,446 million. This is expected to lead to Westpac declaring a fully franked interim dividend of 71 cents per share for the six months. This will be up from 70 cents a year ago.
Gold price edges higher
ASX 200 gold mining shares including Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price edged higher on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price was up a fraction to US$2,310.10 an ounce. At one stage, gold fell to a one-month low despite the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
Macquarie rated neutral
The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price could be fully valued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to the investment bank's FY 2024 results, the broker has reiterated its neutral rating with a trimmed price target of $178.74. It said: "With the stock trading on a revised FY25E PER of 17x, which is c.15% above its 15-year average of 14.4x, and offering very little potential TSR against our revised TP, we stay Neutral."
