On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a positive note, ending it with a 0.4% gain.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
The Australian share market is expected to open the week lower. According to the latest SPI futures, the market is poised to open 0.4% or 23 points lower on Monday. This follows a mixed night of trade on Wall Street on Friday which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.3% but the S&P 500 edge lower and the Nasdaq tumble 0.5%.
A2 Milk share sales
The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price will be on watch today after the CEO of the infant formula and dairy company sold all her ordinary shares. According to a change of director's interest notice, last week Jayne Hrdlicka sold 357, 232 shares for A$3,995,139.80, averaging out at $11.18 per share. Ms Hrdlicka only joined a2 Milk Company on July 16.
Copper price makes big gain.
The shares of copper miners OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could be on the move today after copper prices surged higher. According to Reuters, copper made its biggest one-day advance in over five years on Friday as investors calculated that a trade dispute between the United States and China could damage economic growth less than feared. The benchmark copper price on the London Metal Exchange closed the week at US$6,363 a tonne, up 4.6%. This brought its weekly gain to a sizeable 6.5%.
Shares going ex-dividend.
A number of shares will trade ex-dividend this morning. These include the shares of car listings company Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR), New Zealand telecom company Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU), and fleet management and salary packaging services provider SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX: SGF).
ResMed rated as a buy.
The ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) share price could be on the rise today after the release of a favourable broker note out of Goldman Sachs. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $16.70 price target on ResMed's shares following its investor day in San Diego last week. The broker estimates that the CPAP market is growing around the top of its historical mid-high single digit range and it believes ResMed is currently delivering ahead of this level due to its superior portfolio and effective commercial strategy.
