On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) fought back from an afternoon in the red to close the day ever so slightly higher at 6,268.4 points.
Will the local market be able to build on this on Monday and start the week on a high?
ASX futures pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the local market is expected to open the week lower by 0.1% or 7 points. This decline comes despite a positive end to the week on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.4%, the S&P 500 climb 0.1%, and the Nasdaq edge slightly higher.
It's Amazon Prime day.
Australian retailers such as JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) will have to contend with the first ever Amazon Prime Day in Australia today. The sales event starts at noon (AEST) and runs for 36 hours, offering deep discounts on everything from fashion, beauty, gaming, and electrical items.
Ramsay Health Care acquisition.
The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price will be on watch on Monday after the private hospital operator announced a potential acquisition on Friday after the market closed. Ramsay's 50.9%-owned Ramsay Generale de Sante has offered approximately $1 billion for Swedish-listed healthcare business Capio AB. The Capio board has since unanimously rejected the deal and its shares have risen 9% over the offer price.
Tourism data released.
Later today the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the tourism data for the month of May. The data is expected to show a continuation of the Australian inbound and outbound tourism boom, supporting the strong share price gains made by the likes of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB).
Oil prices tumble.
Oil prices ended the week with a decline on Friday. The WTI crude oil price fell 0.6% to US$70.61 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 0.5% to US$74.93 a barrel. Concerns over a potential supply bubble from the U.S. surplus weighed on prices.
