On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and stormed higher thanks to strong gains in the banking and resources sectors. The benchmark index jumped 1.6% to 6,712 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 poised to rise.
The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 11 points or 0.2% higher. This follows another very strong night of trade on Wall Street which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 0.7%, the S&P 500 up 1.45%, and the Nasdaq up a sizeable 2.4% to a record high.
Tech shares on watch.
It could be a great day of trade for Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), and other tech shares after their US counterparts surged higher. In late trade on Wall Street, the technology-focused Nasdaq index is up a massive 2.4% and above the 13,000 points mark for the first time in its history. Investors were buying shares after Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president and traders looked beyond the unrest in Washington.
Oil prices continue to rise.
It could be another positive day for energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) after oil prices rose again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.4% to US$50.832 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.1% to US$54.37 a barrel. Traders have been buying oil this week following a surprise production cut by Saudi Arabia.
Iron ore rises again.
Mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) were very strong performers on Thursday and stormed to record highs. All eyes will be on their shares again on Friday after the iron ore price continued to rise. The spot iron ore price rose 1.8% to US$171.69 a tonne overnight.
Gold price recovers.
Gold miners including Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) could have a better day after the gold price recovered slightly. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has risen 0.35% to US$1,915.80 an ounce. It is still down meaningfully since this time last week.
