On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped lower for a second day in a row, finishing it down 0.2% to 6,640.5 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
It looks as though the Australian share market will continue its slide on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 12 points or 0.2% lower this morning. This follows a mixed night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones edge lower, the S&P 500 fall 0.1%, and the Nasdaq climb 0.3%.
Oil prices race higher.
Australian energy producers including Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will be on watch on Thursday after oil prices raced higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price climbed 2.4% to US$59.23 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 1.8% to US$66.25 a barrel. Oil prices raced higher after data revealed a sharp drop in supply.
Gold price lower.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR), and the rest of the gold miners could come under pressure this morning after the gold price gave back some of its recent gains. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has dropped 0.4% to US$1,412.70 an ounce after bets on a big Fed rate cut faded.
Galaxy shipment delay.
The Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) share price will be on watch on Thursday after a late announcement revealed that the lithium miner only completed two of three shipments planned in the current quarter. Galaxy said: "The planned third shipment of 15,000 dmt that was previously expected to depart Esperance port prior to the end of Q2 has been delayed and will now form part of the shipment scheduled for July 2019."
Shares going ex-dividend.
A large number of popular dividend shares will be trading ex-dividend this morning and are likely to drop lower. These include property group Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR), airport operator Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD), toll road giant Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), and shopping centre operator Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX).
