On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week with a slight decline to 5,939.5 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is expected to start the week in the red. Current futures contracts are pointing to the market opening 12 points or 0.2% lower on Monday. On Friday Wall Street had another mixed night of trade with the Dow Jones climbing 0.25% higher but the S&P 500 edging lower and the Nasdaq falling 0.5%.
Tech shares expected to fall.
The likes of Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) could come under pressure today after U.S. tech shares tumbled lower. Investors appear nervous ahead of some major earnings releases on Wall Street this week. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are due to release their quarterly results in the coming days.
Flight Centre AGM.
All eyes will be on the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) annual general meeting today. The travel agent giant is expected to provide a trading update on its performance so far in FY 2019. Investors will be looking out for any signs that rising petrol prices and mortgage rates have negatively impacted ticket sales.
Oil prices push higher.
Energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a positive start to the week after oil prices pushed higher on Friday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.7% to US$69.12 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 0.6% to US$79.78 a barrel. Concerns over the US-Saudi alliance have given prices a boost.
Iron ore price slides.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares could come under a spot of pressure today after iron ore prices dropped lower. According to Metal Bulletin, the benchmark fines closed 0.4% lower at US$73.28 a tonne.
