On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index finished the day 0.55% lower at 6,456 points. Despite this decline, the benchmark index posted a weekly gain of 1.4%.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
The Australian share market looks set to start the week on a subdued note despite a positive end to the week on Wall Street. At the time of writing SPI futures are pointing to the ASX 200 opening the week down 2 points. On Friday the Dow Jones rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.15%, and the Nasdaq index pushed 0.1% higher.
Oil prices rebound.
Australian energy shares including Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could start the week on a high after oil prices rebounded on Friday evening. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price climbed 1.2% to US$58.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 1.4% to US$68.69 a barrel. This wasn't enough to stop oil prices recording their worst weekly decline of 2019.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare results.
All eyes will be on the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price today when the medical device company releases its full year results. Its shares hit an all-time high on Friday, so the market appears to be expecting a strong result this morning. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects revenue of NZ$1,082.6 million and EBITDA of NZ$339.7 million in FY 2019.
Vocus auction.
The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price will be one to watch this morning amid speculation that the telco giant could be planning to auction itself off to a handful of private equity and trade buyers. According to the AFR, the board is considering whether to run a formal sale process after receiving a number of takeover approaches. Investment bank UBS is believed to be advising Vocus.
Healthscope delisted.
The Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) share price won't be going anywhere this morning after being suspended from official quotation on Friday evening. This follows lodgement of the Federal Court of Australia orders with ASIC approving the scheme of arrangement which will see Brookfield Business Partners acquire the private hospital operator for $4.4 billion.
