5 things to watch on the ASX on Friday

The shares of BWX Ltd (ASX:BWX), Ellex Medical Lasers Ltd (ASX: ELX), and Premier Investments Limited (ASX:PMV) will be on watch on Friday. Here's what you need to know…

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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) spent the day in the red and finished it down 0.3% to 6,169.5 points.

Will the local market be able to bounce back on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX futures pointing higher.

The Australian share market could finish the week on a positive note. The latest SPI futures are pointing to the S&P/ASX 200 opening the day 0.35% or 22 points higher on Friday. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones surge 0.95%, the S&P 500 rise 0.8%, and the Nasdaq push 1% higher.

Oil prices slide lower.

Energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) could be in the red today after oil prices gave back some of their recent gains. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 0.45% to US$70.80 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 0.9% to US$78.70 a barrel.

Ellex releases clinical trial results.

The Ellex Medical Lasers Ltd (ASX: ELX) share price will be on watch today after the medical technology company released the results of its LEAD study after the market close. The three-year, randomised, multi-centre clinical trial was investigating the efficacy of Ellex 2RT Retinal Rejuvenation Therapy in intermediate age-related macular degeneration patients. Although the results showed a four-fold reduction in the rate of progression to late stage AMD in 76% of patients, the primary endpoint of the trial was not met.

BWX named as a buy.

The BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX) share price could be on the rise on Friday after a note out of Goldman Sachs revealed that it has reinstated coverage on the personal care products company with a buy rating and $5.60 price target. Although the broker acknowledges that it is not quite out of the woods, its potential remains.

Smiggle spin-off.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) shares will be on watch today after the AFR suggested that the latest expansion strategy for its Smiggle brand could be the foundation for a spin-off at a later date. I think it would make a lot of sense to spin-off Smiggle and its Peter Alexander brand.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BWX Limited and Premier Investments Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Ellex Medical Lasers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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