On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) continued its positive run and pushed higher again. The benchmark index rose a solid 0.5% to 6,138.7 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to edge higher.
It could be another positive day for the ASX 200 on Wednesday, despite a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is set rise 5 points or 0.1% at the open. On Wall Street, the major indices gave back their gains to end the day deep in the red. The Dow Jones fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq index fell 1.7%.
CBA FY 2020 results.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price will be in focus today when it releases its full year results for FY 2020. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect the bank's FY 2020 cash earnings from continued operations (pre-one offs) to come in at $7,815 million. This represents an 8% decline on the prior corresponding period. The broker is forecasting a final dividend of 100 cents per share.
Afterpay block trade.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price will be on watch today after one of the biggest black trades of the year occurred after market on Tuesday. According to the AFR, an institutional investor was very keen to get a slice of Afterpay, grabbing 2.85 million shares for $71.50 each. This was a 1.9% premium to the closing price and a total consideration of $203 million. Given that the trade was undertaken by Goldman Sachs, it could be a sign that Tencent Holdings has been increasing its stake. Goldman bought a 5% stake for the WeChat owner earlier this year.
Oil prices drop.
Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could drop lower today after oil prices came under pressure overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.65% to US$41.67 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.8% to US$44.63 a barrel. Oil prices were charging higher before giving back their gains and more during a volatile session.
Gold price crashes.
It could be a difficult day of trade for gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) after the gold price crashed lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has crashed 5.5% to US$1,924.2 an ounce after a return of risk appetite following encouraging economic numbers and a supposed Russian coronavirus vaccine.
