On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a very positive week with a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 5,998.7 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 to surge higher.
The ASX 200 looks set to start the week with a very strong gain after U.S. markets charged notably higher on Friday and Monday night. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is expected to open the week 147 points or 2.45% higher this morning. Overnight on Wall Street the Dow Jones jumped 1.7%, the S&P 500 stormed 1.2% higher, and the Nasdaq index rose 1.1%. The Dow Jones is up 4.9% over the last two trading days after stronger than expected U.S. jobs data.
Oil prices tumble lower.
Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure after oil prices tumbled lower overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 3.4% to US$38.21 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 3.5% to US$40.79 a barrel. Traders were selling oil after Saudi Arabia revealed that it would not extend its production cuts.
Free childcare to end next month.
The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price will be on watch on Tuesday after the Federal Government revealed plans to end its free childcare scheme in July. The government also intends to end the JobKeeper payment for workers in the sector. It will reintroduce the Child Care Subsidy in its place.
Gold price higher.
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after a mixed couple of trading days. After tumbling notably lower on Friday, the gold price rebounded on Monday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 1.35% to US$1,705.40 an ounce.
Iron ore miners on watch.
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could push higher again today after iron ore prices jumped. The spot iron ore price stormed over 5% on Monday and is now up to US$105 a tonne mark. All three of these miners are generating significant free cash flows from their operations with prices at these levels.
