On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a disappointing week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.45% to 7,014.2 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 futures pointing higher
The Australian share market looks set to start the week on a positive note following a strong finish on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the week 48 points or 07% higher this morning. In the United States on Friday, the Dow Jones rose 1.05%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, and the Nasdaq stormed 2.3%. The latter could be good news for tech shares today.
Carsales shares to return
The Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) share price is scheduled to return from its trading halt this morning. The auto listings company requested a trading halt last week to raise funds to acquire a 49% stake in United States-based business Trader Interactive for approximately US$624 million (A$800 million). Carsales is looking to raise $600 million via a pro rata accelerated renounceable entitlement offer at $17.00 per new share. The overall reaction to the acquisition has been positive by brokers.
Oil prices rebound
It could be a good start to the week for energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices rebounded. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 2.4% to US$65.37 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 2.5% to US$68.71 a barrel. This followed declines of around 3% the day before.
Gold price higher
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be in focus today after the gold price stormed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price recorded a 0.85% gain to US$1,838.1 an ounce. This stretched the precious metal's weekly gain to 4%.
Incitec Pivot result
The Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) share price will be on watch today when the industrial chemicals company releases its half year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are expecting the company to report revenue of $1,825 million and EBITDA of $353 million. This is exepcted to lead to an interim dividend of 2.2 cents per share being declared.
