On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 index was out of form and tumbled a disappointing 0.5% to 6,614.1 points.
Will the Australian share market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to push higher.
It looks set to be a positive day of trade for the Australian share market. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 index is expected to open the day 18 points or 0.3% higher this morning after a mildly positive night on Wall Street. In the United States the Dow Jones rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 edged ever so slightly higher, and the Nasdaq dropped a few points lower.
Oil prices mixed.
Australian energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will be on watch on Wednesday after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price dropped 0.2% to US$57.75 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.1% to US$62.66 a barrel.
Gold price falls again.
Gold miners Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could be on the slide again after rising bond yields led to further weakening of the gold price. According to CNBC, the spot gold price dropped a further 1.2% to US$1,493.3 per ounce.
Premier Investments rated as neutral.
The Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) share price will be on watch today after analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their neutral rating and $16.40 price target on the retailer's shares ahead of its results release next week. The broker expects Premier Investments to report a net profit after tax of $127.9 million, compared to the market consensus estimate of $129 million. The latter is year on year growth of 17.8%.
Shares trade ex-dividend.
Another group of shares are due to trade ex-dividend this morning and could drop lower. These include engineering company Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM), struggling horticulture company Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC), childcare centre operator G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM), and job listings giant SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK).
