5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

It looks set to be a great finish to the week for Aussie investors on Friday the 13th.

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On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) returned to form and recorded a strong gain. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 8,075.7 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to jump

The Australian share market looks set to rise strongly again on Friday following a good session in the United States. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 137 points or 1.7% higher this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 0.6%, the S&P 500 was up 0.75%, and the Nasdaq rose 1%.

Oil prices storm higher

ASX 200 energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) look set to have a great finish to the week after oil prices charged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.8% to US$69.22 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.25% to US$72.20 a barrel. This was driven by Hurricane Francine disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shares going ex-dividend

A number of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend and could trade lower on Friday. This includes online auto listings company CAR Group Limited (ASX: CAR), integrated services provider Downer EDI Ltd (ASX: DOW), travel and transport company Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS), and fashion jewellery retailer Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV). The latter is paying its shareholders a 37 cents per share dividend next month on 17 October.

Gold price hits record high

ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a good finish to the week after the gold price hit a record high overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.7% to US$2,544.2 an ounce. This was driven by optimism over a supersized interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve next week.

Buy Megaport shares

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) shares could be great value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating and $12.00 price target on the network as a service company. It commented: "Megaport is seeing a significant uptick in GPUaaS operators coming to market and driving demand for high levels of capacity and services within existing data centres. Latitude.sh was cited as an example of a GPU farm that is operating in 18+ Megaport locations, currently driving increased demand for MP1 connectivity."

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group, Lovisa, and Megaport. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Car Group and Lovisa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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