It certainly was a disappointing day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) on Wednesday. With heavy declines being seen across the board, the benchmark index finished the day 1% lower at 6,230.4 points.
Will it be able to bounce back on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
Unfortunately it looks like the S&P/ASX 200 won't be bouncing back any time soon and could instead spend yet another day deep in the red. According to the latest SPI futures, the local market is expected to open the day 0.4% or 25 points lower following a tough night of trade on Wall Street. Although the Dow Jones edged 0.1% higher, the S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq plunged 1.2% lower.
Tech shares could head lower today.
One of the biggest drags on Wall Street overnight were tech shares. The likes of Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter all fell heavily. This could mean Australian tech shares such as Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are in for a tough day of trade today.
BHP shares go ex-dividend.
The shares of mining giant BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) are likely to be in the red today after going ex-dividend this morning. Eligible investors can now look forward to receiving the mining giant's fully franked 85.6 cents per share final dividend in their nominated accounts on September 25.
Other shares going ex-dividend.
But it isn't just BHP going ex-dividend today. A wide range of shares including investment company Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF), airline Air New Zealand Limited (ASX: AIZ), travel specialist Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD), hospital operator Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) and fertility treatment company Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX: MVF) all go ex-dividend this morning.
Oil prices tumble.
Global trade war concerns and a strengthening U.S. dollar appear to have led to oil prices tumbling lower again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has fallen 1.8% to US$68.64 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down almost 1.5% to US$77.04 a barrel.
