On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 index continued its disappointing run and fell as further 0.2% to 6,641 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX expected to drop lower.
The Australian share market is expected to continue its poor run on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 index is poised to open 0.2% or 13 points lower this morning. This follows a poor night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.1%, the S&P 500 drop 0.35%, and the Nasdaq tumbled 0.4%. Trade war concerns weighed on U.S. markets.
BHP quarterly update.
Hot on the heels of the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) update on Tuesday, this morning it is the turn of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) to release its latest quarterly update. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it has forecast iron ore production growth of 7% to 68.2Mt and full year production of 267Mt. It also expects copper production to be up 5% to 439kt, petroleum production to fall 3% to 28Mmboe, and a 25% lift in met coal production to 12.4Mt.
Oil prices crash.
It looks set to be a disappointing day of trade for energy shares such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices crashed lower. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price sank 3.5% to US$59.31 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price fell 3.2% to US$66.22 a barrel. The catalyst for this was news that tensions between the U.S. and Iran have eased.
Gold price drops lower.
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) will be on watch today after the gold price dropped lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 0.4% to US$1,407.60 an ounce after solid U.S. retail sales data trimmed rate cut hopes.
CIMIC half year results.
The CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) share price will be one to watch this morning when the international contractor releases its half year results. A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that it expects the company to report a 9% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $396 million. Its analysts also expect the company to reiterate its full year underlying net profit after tax guidance of $790 million to $840 million.
