On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) started the week with a 0.15% gain to 6,054.4 points.
Will the local market be able to build on this gain on Wednesday? Here are five things that could shape the day's trade:
ASX futures are pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is expected to open the day 0.1% or 8 points lower. This follows a mixed night of trade on Wall Street following President Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down slightly, the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, and the NASDAQ was 0.6% higher.
Blackmores shares will be on watch after heavy insider selling.
The Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price had a solid day of trade on Tuesday and pushed 4% higher. But its shares could potentially come under pressure today after a change of director's release yesterday revealed that Marcus Blackmore has sold 115,000 shares on-market over the last seven days. According to Mr Blackmore, the sale was conducted to support philanthropic endeavours and help pay for a new home. The executive director still holds over 4 million shares.
Consumer sentiment data due to be released.
Later today the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment data for May will be released. Last month the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment declined 0.6% to 102.4 in April from 103.0 in March. Anything above 100 is classed as positive for sentiment. Some are tipping high petrol prices to lead to sentiment dropping into negative territory this month.
Oil prices slide lower.
Energy producers such as BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could come under pressure on Wednesday after oil prices declined overnight. According to Bloomberg, WTI crude oil fell 0.1% to US$66.04 a barrel and Brent crude oil dropped 1.3% to US$75.45 a barrel. Prices fell after OPEC advised of an uncertain market outlook for 2018.
CIMIC shares go ex-dividend.
The shares of Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) are likely to drop lower today after going ex-dividend this morning for the engineering company's 75 cents per share final dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this dividend in their nominated accounts on July 4.
