The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) fought back from a sharp decline to finish the day flat on Thursday.
Will the ASX 200 be able to finish the week on a positive note today? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day notably higher on Friday. Current futures contracts indicate a 0.3% or 19 points gain at the open following a positive night of trade on Wall Street. Late in the U.S. session the Dow Jones is up 0.5%, the S&P 500 is 1.1% higher, and the Nasdaq has stormed 1.3% higher.
Oil prices continue their recovery.
Energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a positive end to the week after oil prices continued to recover overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.4% to US$56.45 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has pushed 0.7% higher to US$66.58 a barrel.
Wesfarmers' shareholders approve Coles demerger.
The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price will be on watch today after the conglomerate revealed that its shareholders have approved the Coles demerger. Wesfarmers will now seek orders from the Supreme Court of Western Australia for approval of the scheme of arrangement. After which, Coles is expected to trade on the ASX as soon as Wednesday of next week.
Annual general meetings.
It is another busy day of annual general meetings. Key meetings that will be watched closely on Friday include embattled ecommerce company Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN), international property and infrastructure company Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC), and administration services company Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK).
Shares going ex-dividend.
A number of shares are going ex-dividend today and are likely to trade lower. This includes Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR), Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD), Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD), Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL), and WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM)
