On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with the smallest of gains. The benchmark index rose a fraction to 8,423 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise again
The Australian share market is expected to rise again on Tuesday despite a poor start to the week in the United States. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 34 points or 0.4% higher. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is down 0.3%, the S&P 500 is down 0.45%, and the Nasdaq is down 0.4%.
Reserve Bank meeting
All eyes will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday when the central bank meets to decide on interest rates. Unfortunately for borrowers looking for an early Christmas present, the market is not expecting any action from the bank at today's meeting. The latest ASX 30 Day Interbank Cash Rate Futures contract indicates that there is only a 6% probability of a rate cut to 4.1% later today. Though, stranger things have happened.
Oil prices storm higher
It could be a good session for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) on Tuesday after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$68.59 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.7% to US$72.34 a barrel. This was driven by news that China is moving towards monetary easing to boost its growth.
Buy Woolworths shares
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares are in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to its supply chain update, the broker has retained its buy rating and $36.20 price target on the supermarket operator's shares. It said: "By 2030E, we expect WOW to be the dominant leader in online with ~50% share in a space that is expected to go from 5% to 10% of the total grocery market."
Gold price rises
ASX 200 gold miners including Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a good session on Tuesday after the gold price rose overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 1% to US$2,686.6 an ounce. US rate cut optimism and strong buying from China sent the precious metal to a two-week high.
