On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week with a decent gain. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 6,892.5 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to jump
The Australian share market looks set to start the week strongly after a good session on Wall Street on Friday night. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 91 points or 1.3% higher this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was up 1.3%, the S&P 500 rose 1.35%, and the NASDAQ climbed 1.3%. The latest US jobs data sparked hopes that the Federal Reserve could slow its rate hikes.
Oil prices jump
Energy shares such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a great start to the week after oil prices charged higher on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was up 5% to US$92.61 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 4.1% to US$98.57 a barrel. News that China could soon get rid of its COVID zero policy boosted oil and other commodity prices.
Westpac full year results
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be on watch on Monday when the banking giant releases its full year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts expect Westpac to report a 10.3% decline in total revenue to $18,866 million and a 4% decline in cash earnings (before one-offs) to $5,140 million. A full year dividend of $1.23 per share is expected, up from $1.18 per share in FY 2021. Goldman is forecasting a net interest margin of 1.85% in FY 2022 and an improvement to 1.96% in FY 2023.
ANZ shares go ex-dividend
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price could have a subdued start to the week. That's because this big four bank's shares are due to trade ex-dividend on Monday. Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving ANZ's fully franked 74 cents per share dividend next month on 15 December.
Gold price rises
Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a good start to the week after the gold price rose strongly on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price was up 2.8% to US$1,676.6 an ounce during the session. Hopes that the US Fed could slow its rate hikes boosted the precious metal.
