On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 index snapped its winning streak with a small decline. The benchmark index fell 2.4 points to 6,847.3 points.
Will the local share market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 poised to rise.
The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to return to form again on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to climb 0.35% or 24 points at the open. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 0.25%, the S&P 500 trading 0.1% higher, and the Nasdaq index up 0.1%.
NAB bombshell.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price could come under pressure today after ASIC announced that it was taking court action against it for fees for no service and fee disclosure statement failures. ASIC alleges that NAB has broken the law more than 10,000 times, which leaves it exposed to a theoretical maximum penalty of close to $10 billion. This should make NAB's AGM interesting later today.
Dividends being paid.
A couple of popular dividend shares are paying their latest dividends on Wednesday. Investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is paying a $2.50 per share partially franked interim dividend and banking giant Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) is paying a final partially franked 80 cents per share final dividend.
Oil prices surge higher.
Energy shares including Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could push higher today after oil prices surged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 1.2% to US$60.94 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 1.2% higher to US$66.13 a barrel. Trade hopes and supply cuts boosted prices.
Gold price flat.
Gold miners Saracen Minerals Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) will be on watch today after the spot gold price traded flat. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is mostly flat at US$1,479.7 an ounce. A lack of concrete details about the phase one U.S.-China trade deal is keeping investors from making firm bets.
