On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a good session and pushed higher again. The benchmark index rose 0.6% to 8,406.7 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise again
The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Thursday despite a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 point or 0.2% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.3%, the S&P 500 is down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq is 0.6% lower.
Buy Web Travel shares
The team at Goldman Sachs thinks that Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) shares could be undervalued. In response to the travel technology company's half year results release, the broker has reiterated its buy rating with an improved price target of $7.00. This implies potential upside of almost 46% for investors over the next 12 months. It said: "We believe that management addressed sufficiently the different factors driving the significant decline in WebBeds revenue margin (from 8.1% 1H24 to 6.6% 1H25) and gave clear guidance for FY25/26 to deliver a cautiously optimistic outlook."
Oil prices fall
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a subdued session after oil prices fell overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.45% to US$68.47 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 0.3% to US$72.59 a barrel. Oil prices eased after Isreal and Hezbollah announced a ceasefire.
Gold price rises
It could be a decent session for ASX 200 gold shares including Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price rose overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.7% to US$2,664.1 an ounce. A softer US dollar gave the precious metal a lift.
Elders rated as a buy
Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) shares could be in the buy zone according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating and $9.45 price target the agribusiness company's shares. Bell Potter feels that the ASX 200 share is good value at current levels. It said: "Trading at ~7.4x PF25e EBITDA, ELD trades at a reasonable discount to its through-the-cycle EBITDA multiple of 8.5x."
