On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the week with a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.15% to 7,931.2points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to fall
The Australian share market looks set to fall on Monday despite a decent finish on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 41 points or 0.5% lower. In the United States, the Dow Jones was up 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq pushed 0.5% higher.
Buy Woolworths shares
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares charged higher on Friday following the release of the ACCC's supermarket inquiry final report. Goldman Sachs was pleased with the report and has retained its buy rating and $36.10 price target on the company's shares. It said: "Given few surprises in today's report, we expect this to reduce the regulatory overhang for WOW/COL, which has weighed on investor sentiment over the last 14 months. That said, there are separate proceedings in the Federal Court against WOW/COL for allegedly misleading consumers with discounting pricing practices."
Oil prices rise
It looks set to 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 rose on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was up 0.3% to US$68.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was up 0.2% to US$72.16 a barrel. News that OPEC plans to rein in overproduction gave prices a boost.
Gold price falls
It looks like ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a poor start to the week after the gold price pulled back on Friday night. According to CNBC, the gold futures price was down 0.75% to US$3,021.4 an ounce. A stronger US dollar put pressure on the precious metal.
Shares going ex-dividend
A couple of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. This includes contract services provider NRW Holdings Limited ASX: NWH) and coal miner New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC). Last week, the latter released its half year results and declared a fully franked 19 cents per share interim dividend. This equates to a sizeable 4.1% dividend yield based on its last close price. Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving this next month on 9 April.
