On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index returned to form with a solid 0.4% gain to 6,666.3 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 0.15% or 9 points lower this morning. This is despite a reasonably positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones trade flat, the S&P 500 rise 0.4%, and the Nasdaq charge 0.7% higher.
Tech shares on watch.
Australian tech shares such as Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) will be on watch on Friday after their U.S. counterparts stormed higher overnight. Investors appear optimistic that progress could be made in respect to trade talks when the Trump-Xi meeting takes place at the G-20 summit.
Oil prices lower.
It looks likely to be a subdued end to the week for Australian energy producers including Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices pulled back overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price dropped 0.1% to US$59.34 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 0.15% to US$66.40 a barrel.
Gold price lower.
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) shares will be on watch this morning after the gold price tumbled lower on Thursday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 0.3% to US$1,411.50 an ounce. The precious metal came under pressure due to US-China trade optimism.
Scentre rated as a buy.
The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price could be on the rise on Friday after Goldman Sachs retained its buy rating and lifted the price target on its shares to $4.72. The broker made the move after Scentre disposed of the office component of its Westfield Sydney asset for $1.52 billion to funds managed by Blackstone. Goldman estimates that this was a 10% premium to book value.
