On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued its solid form and pushed a further 0.7% higher to 5,722.4 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open higher on Wednesday. Futures contracts are currently pointing to a gain of 15 points or 0.25% at the open. This follows another positive night of trade on Wall Street driven by positive US-China trade talks. Late in the U.S. session the Dow Jones is up 1%, the S&P 500 has climbed 0.8%, and the Nasdaq has pushed 0.9% higher.
Oil prices zoom higher.
Energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) could be on the rise on Wednesday after positive trade talks and OPEC production cuts led to oil prices zooming higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.2% to US$49.61 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has pushed 2.2% to US$58.57 a barrel.
Final day to get BHP's special dividend.
Today is the final day for non-shareholders to get hold of the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) special dividend. The mining giant's shares will trade ex-dividend for its US$1.02 ($1.43) per share special dividend tomorrow, meaning investors will need to be on the share registry by the end of the trading day to qualify for it.
Magellan shares rated as a buy.
The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price was a strong performer on Tuesday after the fund manager released its latest funds under management update. One broker that was pleased with what it saw was Goldman Sachs. It has retained its buy rating and lifted the price target on its shares to $29.50.
Platinum rated as a sell.
Another fund manager that provided an update was Platinum Asset Management Limited (ASX: PTM). Unfortunately, this one didn't go down especially well with Goldman Sachs. As a result, it has retained its sell rating and $4.65 price target on Platinum's shares.
