On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in a positive fashion. The benchmark index rose 1.15% to 6,863.5 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
The Australian share market looks set to fall on Melbourne Cup Day. This follows a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 5 points or 0.1% lower. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.45%, the S&P 500 is down 0.8%, and the NASDAQ has tumbled 1.1% lower.
RBA meeting
The Reserve Bank of Australia will be meeting this afternoon to decide on the cash rate. The market is currently pricing in a 0.25% rise by the central bank. However, economists at Westpac Banking Group (ASX: WBC) believe a 0.5% hike is coming at today's meeting. Chief economist Bill Evans said: "The September quarter inflation report has come as such a major surprise that we think the Reserve Bank Board will decide to raise the cash rate by 50bps at the next Board meeting on November 1."
Oil prices fall
Energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a tough day after oil prices tumbled overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.8% to US$86.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 1% to US$94.85 a barrel. Chinese demand fears weighed on prices.
Brickworks goes ex-dividend
The Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price is likely to tumble into the red on Tuesday. That's because this morning the building products company's shares are due to trade ex-dividend for its latest dividend. Last month the company released its full year results and declared a fully franked 41 cents per share final dividend. This equates to 1.9% dividend yield at the last close price.
Gold price falls
Gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a difficult day after the gold price traded lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.5% to US$1,636.6 an ounce. Traders have been selling gold ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting this week.
