On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 index fought hard to carve out the smallest of gains. The benchmark index climbed almost 1 point to 6,648 points.
Will the Australian share market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 poised to edge lower.
The Australian share market looks set to drop lower on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 index is expected to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower after another mixed night of trade on Wall Street. In the United States the Dow Jones rose 0.15%, but the S&P 500 edged lower and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.
Oil prices rebound.
It looks set to be a positive day of trade for Australian energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices surged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price stormed 2.7% higher to US$58.02 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 1.9% to US$62.70 a barrel. Oil prices charged higher after the new Saudi minister committed to production cuts.
Platinum rated as a sell.
The Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) share price could come under pressure again on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs reiterated its sell rating on the struggling fund manager. The broker revealed that it was disappointed with Platinum's performance in August and appears concerned that this trend could continue. Platinum reported a 3% decline in Funds Under Management to $24.4 billion.
Gold price falls again.
The shares of gold miners such as Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could come under pressure again after improving investor sentiment led to the gold price dropping to a two-week low. According to CNBC, the spot gold price dropped a further 0.6% to US$1,506.5 per ounce.
More shares trade ex-dividend.
More popular shares are scheduled to trade ex-dividend this morning and could edge lower. These include packaging company Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC), biotherapeutics giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), media company News Corp (ASX: NWS), and healthcare company Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL).
