On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued its positive run and climbed a further 1.1% to 6,092.5 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
The Australian share market is poised to finish the week with a day in the red. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 0.6% or 37 points lower following a disappointing night of trade on Wall Street. Late in the U.S. session the Dow Jones is down 1.1%, the S&P 500 has dropped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq has tumbled 1.4% lower.
Tech shares on the slide.
High flying tech shares such as Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) could have their wings clipped today after their U.S. tech peers dropped lower. U.S. stocks tumbled lower after CNBC reported that the Trump-Xi trade war meeting would be unlikely to occur before a key March deadline.
NAB CEO exits.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be on watch on Friday after the banking giant confirmed the resignation of its CEO and chairman. In addition to this, NAB released its first quarter trading update which revealed a 3% decline in cash earnings to $1.65 billion. The bank finished the period with a CET1 of 10%.
REA Group results.
The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price could be on the move on Friday when it released its half year results. The property listings company had a strong first quarter despite weakness in the housing market. Investors will be looking to see if this positive form continued in the second quarter.
Oil prices sink.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares could come under pressure on Friday after oil prices sank lower overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 2.4% to US$52.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 1.5% to US$61.73 a barrel. Trade war concerns weighed on prices.
