On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended another tough week with a positive session. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 7,789.7 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to jump
The Australian share market looks set for a strong start to the week following a very positive finish on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 85 points or 1.15% higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones was up 1.65%, the S&P 500 rose 2.1%, and the Nasdaq charged 2.6% higher.
Buy Qantas shares
Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares have fallen heavily this month due to a combination of broad market weakness and concerns about updates from US airlines. Goldman Sachs thinks this is a buying opportunity. This morning, the broker has reiterated its buy rating and $11.80 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 30% for investors over the next 12 months. It said: "We believe that QAN's earnings capacity has sustainably improved since COVID, which provides a solid foundation for QAN's next stage of growth."
Oil prices push higher
It could be a decent start to the week for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) after oil prices pushed higher on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was up 0.95% to US$67.18 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was up 1% to US$70.58 a barrel. Traders appear to believe that oil prices were oversold and were buying the dip.
Gold price edges higher
It looks like ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a mildly positive start to the week after the gold price edged higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the gold futures price was up 0.1% to US$2,993.6 an ounce. The precious metal broke through the US$3,000 an ounce mark for the first time before pulling back.
Liontown rated neutral
The Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price is fairly valued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to the lithium miner's half year results, the broker has retained its neutral rating and 69 cents price target. It said: "We remain Neutral rated, with LTR trading in-line at ~0.95x NAV and implying ~US$1,160/t LT spodumene (peers at ~0.8x & ~US$1,050/t) though with significant potential valuation uplift from de-risking/valuation roll-forward."
