On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) started the week with a day in the red. The benchmark index finished the day 0.5% lower at 5,818.1 points.
Will the index be able to bounce back on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 0.1% or 6 points higher on Tuesday. This follows a reasonably positive start to the week on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 0.9% and the S&P 500 climb 0.7%. The Nasdaq technology index started on a disappointing note, falling 0.3%. With the latter index sinking lower, it could mean another tough day of trade for tech shares such as Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) which fell heavily on Monday.
Melbourne Cup day.
It is a public holiday in Victoria today for the Melbourne Cup. This means that trading volumes on the Australian share market may be a touch lower than normal. Not least at 15:00 Eastern time when the race that stops a nation starts. The bookies favourite is Aidan O'Brien's Yucatan which is being ridden by James McDonald.
Reserve Bank meeting.
It is the first Tuesday of the month, which means the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet to discuss the cash rate. The central bank will release its decision at 14:30 Eastern time, giving Governor Lowe and his team ample time to prepare for the big race. Unlike the big race which is largely unpredictable, the cash rate decision appears to be a mere formality. The market expects the bank to keep rates on hold for yet another month.
Oil prices mixed.
Energy shares such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) started the week deep in the red after oil prices tumbled lower at the end of last week. This poor form could continue on Tuesday after a mixed night for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 0.4% to US$62.90 a barrel and the Brent crude oil prices edged 0.1% higher to US$72.88 a barrel.
Westpac shares will be on watch.
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price rose 0.6% on Monday following the release of the banking giant's full year results. Brokers will have had all of yesterday to digest the result and make any changes to their recommendations. This is likely to lead to the release of countless broker notes this morning.
