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:
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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."
