On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a disappointing note. The benchmark index finished the day 0.25% lower at 5,619.4 points.
Will the local market be able to bounce back on Monday? 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 notably higher following an incredible rally on Wall Street on Friday night. Current futures contracts are pointing to a 1.2% or 70 points gain at the open following a 3.3% push higher by the Dow Jones, a 3.4% rise by the S&P 500, and a 4.3% gain by the Nasdaq.
Tech shares set to rally.
On Friday tech shares rebounded strongly on Wall Street after a surprisingly strong jobs report and positive comments out of the Federal Reserve. This could mean Australian tech shares such as Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) bounce back from the heavy declines they made on Friday.
Australian dollar spikes.
The Australian dollar has bounced back from its flash crash last week and is currently trading at 71.15 U.S. cents. The local currency dropped to a ten-year low of 67.5 U.S. cents last week. Comments out of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell were largely behind the rebound. Bloomberg has reported that Mr Powell has signalled that the central bank could pause its interest rate increase cycle if necessary.
Oil prices on the rise.
Energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be set for another positive day of trade after oil prices finished the week on a positive note. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 1.85% to US$47.96 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price pushed 2% to US$57.06 a barrel.
Gold price falls.
Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) were strong performers on Friday rising around 4% each. These shares could be poised to give back some of these gains on Monday after the spot gold price dropped lower as investors went into risk on mode again. The spot gold price is currently fetching US$1,284 an ounce, down over 1% from Friday's high.
