On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with a very strong gain. The benchmark index rose 1.3% to 7,172.8 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to sink
It looks set to be a difficult day for the Australian share market on Tuesday following a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 59 points or 0.8% lower this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones dropped 0.1%, the S&P 500 fell 1%, and the Nasdaq tumbled 2.55%.
Oil prices soften
Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be out of form after oil prices softened. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.15% to US$64.80 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.15% to US$68.19 a barrel.
Seven makes Boral takeover offer
The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price will be one to watch this morning after Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) launched an off market takeover offer. Seven, which currently owns 23.18% of Boral, has made a $6.501 cash per share off-market for all of the shares it does not own. This represents an 18% premium to its close price on 31 March. This is the trading day prior to the announcement of Boral's current on-market share buy-back.
Gold price rises
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.4% to US$1,838.20 an ounce. Weak US economic data sent the gold price close to a three-month high.
Tech shares could tumble
Leading Australian tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) could come under pressure today. This follows a particularly bad night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. As the local tech sector tends to follow the Nasdaq's lead, its 2.55% decline doesn't bode well for today's session. One slight positive for Afterpay and Zip, though, is that their US rival Affirm jumped after a strong update.
