On Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a high and climbed an impressive 1.3% to 6,094 points.
Will the local market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things that could shape the day's trade:
ASX futures are flat.
The Australian share market is expected to open the day flat on Monday. According to the latest SPI futures, the S&P/ASX 200 is poised to open flat at around 6,100 points following a disappointing end to the week on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week with a 0.3% decline, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, and the NASDAQ was off 0.2% due to trade war concerns.
Oil prices tumbles.
Energy producers such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure today after oil prices finished the week deep in the red. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price closed the week with a 2.7% decline to US$65.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price fell 3.3% to US$73.44 a barrel.
Spot gold price plunges.
The spot gold price sank at the end of the week in what appears to have been a delayed response to rising rates in the United States. It fell almost 2% to a 2018 low of US$1,276 an ounce before closing the week at US$1,278.45 an ounce.
The Australian dollar slides lower.
A strengthening U.S. dollar has put pressure on the Australian dollar. The local currency fell 0.6% on Friday to close the week at 74.4 U.S. cents. This could give the shares of Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) a boost as they generate significant revenues in the U.S. market.
Evans Dixon upgrades its guidance.
The shares of recently listed financial services company Evans Dixon Ltd (ASX: ED1) could be on the move today after it announced an upgrade to its earnings guidance after the market closed on Friday. Due to a strong performance from all three of its business segments during the current quarter, management expects pro forma EBITDA of $50 million compared to its prospectus forecast of $42.6 million. This is a $7.4 million or 17.4% increase on its previous forecast.
