On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on very strong form and stormed notably higher. The benchmark index climbed 1.2% to 7,509.8 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to rise again
The Australian share market looks set to push higher again on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 points or 0.25% higher this morning. This follows a decent night on Wall Street, which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.1%, but the Nasdaq down 0.1%.
Oil prices higher
Energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a good day after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.7% to US$76.49 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.2% to US$79.11 a barrel. Oil prices rose after data showed a fall in U.S. crude and fuel inventories.
Gold price falls
Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a tough day after the gold price edged lower. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.3% to US$1,805.60 an ounce. The gold price eased from a one-month high as investors piled into equities.
Shares going ex-dividend
A number of popular ASX 200 dividend shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. Among the shares going ex-div are Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC), Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR), and Transurban Group (ASX: TCL).
Iron ore price falls
It was a subdued night of trade for the spot benchmark iron ore price. According to Metal Bulletin, it fell 1% to US$118.30 a tonne. However, this hasn't stopped the US listed BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price from pushing higher on Wednesday night. The Big Australian's NYSE shares are up over 1% at the time of writing.
