On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back its intraday gains and ended slightly lower. The benchmark index fell 4.6 points to 8,309.4 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
The Australian share market looks set to fall on Thursday following a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 9 point or 0.1% lower this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.4%, the S&P 500 is down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq is 0.55% lower. This follows news that US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates but plans fewer cuts in the future.
Buy Codan shares
The team at Goldman Sachs thinks that Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares could be in the buy zone. This morning, the broker has initiated coverage on the metal detector company with a buy rating and $18.00 price target. It said: "Our FY25/26/27E Npat forecasts are +3-5% above VA consensus with differences explained largely due to acquisition and integration assumptions. We consider there to be further upside to our forecasts with incremental accretive acquisitions, and the integration and expansion of recently acquired businesses."
Oil prices rise
ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.8% to US$70.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.4% to US$73.50 a barrel. Traders were buying oil after US crude stocks fell.
Gold price falls
It could be a subdued session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.35% to US$2,652 an ounce. This follows the US Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting.
James Hardie rated as a buy
James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) shares could be undervalued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has initiated coverage on the building materials company's shares with a buy rating and $64.00 price target. It said: "JHX recently outlined an ambitious target to triple North America EBITDA to ~US$3.4bn by FY35e which, according to JHX, would see the group deliver on a double-digit top-line CAGR and +350-500bps of margin expansion. We estimate 3x in FY35e (vs. BPe US$2.5bn) would be worth ~A$87.00 in share value today, supporting value upside potential should the market begin to price in this trajectory."
