5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX:CTD), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB), and Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX:WOW) shares will be on watch on Thursday. Here's what you need to know…

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On Wednesday the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) ended a turbulent day of trade on a positive note. It closed the day 0.4% higher at 5,830.3 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX futures pointing higher.

According to the latest SPI futures, the S&P/ASX 200 is expected to open the day higher by 0.4% or 23 points on Thursday. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones rise 1%, the S&P 500 climb 1.2%, and the Nasdaq push 2% higher.

National Australia Bank results.

On Wednesday Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) released a solid full year result, much to the relief of investors. Today it will be the turn of National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) to release its numbers for FY 2018. A recent note out of Goldman Sachs revealed that it expects the banking giant to post cash earnings of $5,774 million (pre-one-offs), down 13.1% on the prior corresponding period. This compares to the Bloomberg consensus of $5,764 million. Goldman expects its final dividend to remain flat at 99 cents per share.

Woolworths first quarter sales update.

Retail conglomerate Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is scheduled to release its first quarter sales update this morning. Another note out of Goldman Sachs shows that the broker expects Woolworths to reveal a weak start to FY 2019. It has forecast revenues of $14,600 million, up just 0.5% on the prior corresponding period. It estimates comparable sales from its Australian Food segment of 1%.

Crown annual general meeting.

The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price will be on watch on the day of its annual general meeting. The casino and resorts company is expected to provide a trading update on its performance so far in FY 2019. Industry peer Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) is also holding its meeting, along with fund manager Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT).

Corporate Travel Management shares will be on watch.

The Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price is another that investors will be watching closely. It fell a massive 27% on Wednesday despite the release of a comprehensive rebuttal to VGI Partners' short seller report. Some investors expect VGI Partners to come back for a second bite, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if it made a swift exit from this one and be thankful for yesterday's panic selloff.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Crown Resorts Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of National Australia Bank 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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