On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) gave back its morning gains to finish the day 0.4% lower at 5,864.7 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back on Friday and finish the week on a high? 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 higher on Friday. Current futures contracts are pointing to an 8-point or 0.15% gain at the open. This follows a mixed night of trade on Wall Street which late in the session sees the Dow Jones down 0.25%, the S&P 500 up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 1.3% higher.
Tech shares could be on the rise.
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares were strong performers on the market on Thursday. These tech stars could be on the rise again on Friday after their U.S. tech peers pushed higher overnight. The technology-focused Nasdaq index is up 1.3% in late trade.
Oil prices mixed.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shares will be on watch on Friday after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has fallen 0.8% to US$53.80 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has climbed 0.4% to US$61.90 a barrel. WTI crude oil climbed 18% in January, which is its biggest January gain on record.
Beach tipped to rise.
The Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price was one of the best performers on the ASX 200 last month with a gain of 34%. The good news for shareholders is that Goldman Sachs believes these gains can continue following yesterday's update. The broker has a buy rating and $2.00 price target on Beach's shares. This price target implies potential upside of 11% for its shares.
Iron ore prices.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares are likely to trade higher on Friday after iron ore prices continued to climb higher. According to Metal Bulletin, the benchmark 62% fines climbed almost 3.5%, bringing its week to date gain to over 14%.
