On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back its morning gains and slipped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.2% to 8,213.3 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to storm higher
The Australian share market looks set to jump on Thursday following a strong night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 114 point or 1.4% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 1.7%, the S&P 500 is up 1.8%, and the Nasdaq is 2.3% higher. An encouraging US inflation report gave sentiment a boost.
Rio Tinto quarterly
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares will be on watch today when the mining giant releases its fourth quarter update. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects the miner to outperform expectations with iron ore shipments of 88.1Mt. This is up from 84.6Mt in the third quarter and ahead of the consensus estimate of 87.5Mt. Mined copper is expected to rise to 179kt but fall short of the consensus estimate of 182kt
Oil prices jump
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a great session after oil prices jumped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.8% to US$79.67 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.2% to US$81.65 a barrel. Traders were buying oil in response to sanctions on Russian oil.
Gold price rises
It could be a good session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Wednesday after the gold price charged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 1.2% to US$2,715.1 an ounce. This follows the release of softer than expected inflation data.
Origin shares downgraded
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) shares could be fully valued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning, the broker has downgraded the energy giant's shares to neutral (from buy) with a $10.40 price target. This implies potential downside of 7% for investors from current levels. It said: " ORG remains well positioned to benefit from Australia's energy transition with the NEM's largest flexible gas generation fleet, strong cash flow from APLNG, and potential upside through Octopus, though we consider the stock fully valued after recent strong performance with risk for negative consensus valuation revisions on higher cash tax payments in FY25."
