On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 index continued its poor run despite a valiant effort in the afternoon. The benchmark index fell 0.8% to 6,391.5 points.
Will the local share market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 futures pointing lower.
The S&P/ASX 200 index looks set to open the day lower on Tuesday despite a positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to fall 0.6% or 39 points at the open. In late trade on Wall Street the Dow Jones is up 2.7%, the S&P 500 index is 1.4% higher, and the Nasdaq index is up 1.35%.
Oil prices rebound.
Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch today after oil prices jumped higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has risen 4.45% to US$46.75 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has surged 4.5% higher to US$51.86 a barrel. Speculation that OPEC will cut production is giving prices a boost.
Gold price rises.
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could be on the rise today after the gold price rebounded. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has risen 1.9% to US$1,597.10 an ounce. The prospect of rate cuts globally is supporting the precious metal.
Reserve Bank meeting.
The Reserve Bank is meeting this afternoon to make a decision on the cash rate. At the end of last week, the market had priced in just an 11% probability of a rate cut. Whereas current cash rate futures now imply a 100% certainty of a rate cut to 0.5% later today. This follows the release of very weak economic data out of China at the weekend which revealed just how much of an impact the coronavirus is having.
Shares going ex-dividend.
Another group of shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. These include packaging giant Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC), private health insurer Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL), and Spark Infrastructure Group (ASX: SKI).
