On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 index was out of form and gave back its early gains to end notably lower. The benchmark index lost 0.55% and fell to 6,660.2 points.
Will the local share market be able to bounce back on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 poised to rise.
It looks set to be a better day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 index. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 25 points or 0.4% higher this morning. This follows a subdued night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones trade flat, the S&P 500 edge slightly higher, and the Nasdaq tumble 0.3% lower.
NAB results.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be on watch on Thursday when it becomes the latest bank to release its full year results. All eyes will be on its dividend and capital position. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects cash earnings from continuing operations (pre-one offs) to fall 8% to $5,243 million. A dividend cut to 83 cents per share is also expected.
Xero half year result.
Also on watch will be the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price when it releases its half year results. The cloud-based business and accounting software provider is expected by many in the market to report that it has now surpassed two million subscribers.
Oil prices sink.
It looks set to be a tough day of trade for energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL). According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 1.4% to US$56.41 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 1.9% to US$61.77 a barrel. This was driven by a spike in U.S. inventories.
Gold price rebounds.
Gold miners including Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) could have a better day of trade today after the gold price rebounded. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 0.65% to US$1,493.40 an ounce. The catalyst for this was doubts over a trade deal.
