On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) snapped its winning streak with a small decline. The benchmark index fell 0.2% to 7,112.8 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set to end the week on a mildly positive note. This is despite it being a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 10 points or 0.15% higher this morning. In afternoon trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.3%, the S&P 500 is down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq is trading flat.
Oil prices push higher
Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a good finish to the week after oil prices strengthened overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2% to US$89.91 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.3% to US$95.83 a barrel. Traders were bidding oil higher after data showed that US crude stocks fell materially more than expected last week.
Cochlear results
The Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price will be one to watch on Friday. This morning the hearing solutions company is scheduled to release its full year results. According to a note out of Citi, its analysts are expecting the company to report a net profit after tax of $299 million. This is ahead of the market consensus estimate of $287.9 million.
Gold price edges lower
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a reasonably subdued finish to the week after the gold price edged lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.3% to US$1,771.50 an ounce. A stronger US dollar appears to be weighing on the precious metal. In other news, Newcrest is scheduled to release its results today.
Xero remains a buy
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price remains good value following the cloud accounting company's trading update. This morning the broker retained its buy rating with a slightly trimmed price target of $111.00. While the broker acknowledges that its UK subscriber weakness persists, it expects the issues causing this to be resolved soon.
