On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 8,231 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to edge higher
The Australian share market looks set to edge higher on Wednesday following a relatively positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 8 points or 0.1% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 0.5%, the S&P 500 is up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq is 0.2% higher.
Yancoal CEO steps down
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) shares will be on watch today after the coal miner announced that its CEO is stepping down. Yancoal advised that David James Moult has decided to resign after seven years with the company and five years as CEO. Mr Moult has decided to retire from full-time employment to devote more time to his other business engagements. His employment will end on 14 July 2025, but active duties are ceasing immediately.
Oil prices fall
ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session after oil prices fell overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.5% to US$77.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.2% to US$80.04 a barrel. Traders were taking profit after strong gains in recent sessions.
Gold price edges higher
It could be a decent session for ASX 200 gold shares such as Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price edged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.2% to US$2,684.8 an ounce. The precious metal pushed higher following the release of soft inflation data
Premier Investments named as a buy
Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV) shares could be in the buy zone after recent weakness according to Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating on the retail conglomerate's shares with a trimmed price target of $34.00 (from $38.00). It said: "Our PT is based on a SOTP with an unchanged 17x multiple for PA, downgraded 13x for Smiggle (prev. 14x), 7x multiple for AB (prev. ~8x) and a current market valuation for MYR/BRG. With Smiggle and AB earnings tracking weaker than BPe, we have decreased the relevant multiples (FY25e based). The net result is a ~11% decrease in our PT to $34.00 (prev $38.00) which is a >15% premium to the share price and we retain our recommendation at BUY."
