On Thursday the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued its strong run and hit a new six-month high. It finished the day 0.3% higher at 6,263.9 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 looks set to finish the week on a disappointing note. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day lower by 24 points or 0.4%. This follows a weak night of trade on Wall Street. Late in the session the Dow Jones is down 0.55%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.7%, and the Nasdaq is 1% lower.
Oil prices climb higher.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shares will be on watch on Friday after oil prices climbed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price jumped 0.85% to US$56.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price pushed 0.5% higher to US$66.31 a barrel. This was driven by sanctions and supply cuts offsetting demand concerns.
Tech shares could come under pressure.
Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) shares could come under pressure today after their U.S. tech peers sank lower on Wall Street overnight. At the time of writing the Nasdaq tech index is down 1% after the European Central Bank slashed its growth forecasts and warned about protectionism threats.
Shares going ex-dividend.
Another group of shares are due to trade ex-dividend this morning for their latest payouts and are likely to trade lower. This includes healthcare company Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) and market darling WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
JB Hi-Fi dividend being paid.
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) will be paying the retailer's shareholders its latest dividend later today. Eligible shareholders will receive a 91 cents per share fully franked interim dividend. Elsewhere, investment company Argo Investments Limited (ASX: ARG) will pay its fully franked 16 cents per share interim dividend to eligible shareholders on Friday.
