On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a disappointing and unusual week with another decline. The benchmark index fell 0.65% to 6,607.4 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
It looks set be a difficult start to the week for the ASX 200 after another poor night of trade on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to fall 34 points or 0.5% at the open. On Wall Street the Dow Jones fell 2%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.9%, and the Nasdaq tumbled 2% lower. This meant all three major indices dropped over 3% for the week, which was their worst weekly performance since October.
Oil prices edge lower
Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could start the week in the red after oil prices edged lower. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 0.3% to US$52.20 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price fell 0.1% to US$55.04 a barrel. Concerns about COVID-19 vaccine weighed on sentiment.
Nearmap upgraded to buy rating
The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price will be on watch this morning after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the aerial imagery technology and location data company's shares to a buy rating with a $2.75 price target. It explained: "NEA appears fairly valued relative to its A/NZ peer group but is attractively priced relative to US software peers with similar revenue growth + EBITDA margin outlooks."
Gold price pushes higher
It could be a good day for gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price pushed higher on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 0.5% to US$1,850.30 an ounce. However, this couldn't stop the precious metal from recording a decline for both the week and month.
Reddit sends silver price soaring
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares will be on watch today after the silver price shot higher on Friday night. This followed calls on Reddit's Wall Street Bets to cause the "biggest short squeeze in the world" by driving the silver price from US$25 an ounce to US$1,000 an ounce. It didn't quite get that far, but rose 4% to US$26.91.
