On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and charged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.55% to 7,067.9 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
It looks set to be a difficult day of trade for the Australian share market on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 24 points or 0.35% lower this morning. This follows a poor night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones rise slightly but the S&P 500 fall 0.7% and the Nasdaq sink 1.9%. The latter could be bad news for local tech shares, which tend to follow the Nasdaq's lead.
ANZ half year update
The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price will be one to watch today when it releases its half year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are expecting the banking giant to report first half cash earnings (pre-one offs) of $3,073 million. This will be a massive 117% increase on the prior corresponding period, which of course was impacted by COVID-19. The broker is expecting this to allow the ANZ board to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 60 cents per share.
Oil prices storm higher
It could be a good day for energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) on Wednesday after oil prices stormed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$65.81 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has climbed 2.1% to US$68.97 a barrel. Demand optimism has been lifting prices this week.
Gold price falls
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) could come under pressure after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.7% to US$1,779.30 an ounce. This follows comments by US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. She said that interest rates may need to rise to stop the US economy from overheating.
Nearmap guidance upgrade
The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price will be one to watch today following an after market update yesterday. According to the release, trading has remained strong and the company now expects to deliver annual contract value (ACV) of $128 million to $132 million in FY 2021. This compares to its previous guidance of $120 million to $128 million. It will also be a 20% to 24% increase on FY 2020's ACV of $106.4 million.
