On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a tough session and dropped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.75% to 8,193.4 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 rebound
The Australian share market looks set for a better session on Thursday following a relative positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 20 point or 0.25% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 0.1%, the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq is 0.15% lower.
Xero half year results
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares will be on watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday when the cloud accounting platform provider releases its half year results. Goldman Sachs recently said "Overall we forecast for a revenue beat vs consensus, but expect slightly higher costs given ongoing investment. Specifically we expect: (1) 1H25 revenue growth +28% to NZ$1,025mn (VAe NZ$998mn) – we bridge FY24 ARR to 1H25 in Ex 1; (2) EBITDA/EBIT of NZ$283mn/NZ$139mn (vs. VAe NZ$286mn/NZ$141mn), and expect opex as a % of sales to be 1H weighted at 75.3% (VAe: 73.9%) vs the group's target of around 73% for FY25 (GSe: 72.7%, VAe 71.6%); and (3) NPAT of NZ$104mn (vs. VAe NZ$110mn)."
Oil prices rise
ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) look set to have a better session after oil prices rose overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.45% to US$68.43 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$74.38 a barrel. Oil prices rose after short sellers covered their positions.
Gold price falls again
It looks set to be another difficult session for ASX 200 gold shares including Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price fell again overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.6% to US$2,590.1 an ounce. A strong US dollar put pressure on the precious metal and sent it to a two-month low.
Buy Life360 shares
Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) shares pulled back on Wednesday and analysts at Bell Potter think investors should be taking advantage of this. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $26.75 (from $22.50). This implies potential upside of almost 20%. It said: "Highlight of the result was very strong paying circle growth of 159k q-o-q which materially exceeded our forecast of 121k and was a new record. Cash at 30 September was US$160m."
