On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) returned to form and bounced back from the market selloff. The benchmark index stormed 2.3% higher to 7,510 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
The Australian share market looks set to give back most of yesterday's gains following a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 157 points or 2.1% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones was down 0.85%, the S&P 500 fell 1.6%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.15%. The latter was up as much as 4% at one stage before hitting reverse.
Oil prices continue to fall
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have another difficult session after a tough night for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 3.7% to US$58.46 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 3.7% to US$61.81 a barrel. Concerns over a potential full-blown trade war has put pressure on oil.
Fortescue shares upgraded
Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares are no longer a sell according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning, the broker has upgraded the iron ore miner's shares to neutral with a $15.30 price target on valuation grounds. It said: "Upgrade FMG to Neutral (from Sell) with the stock now trading at ~0.8x NAV, although we expect FCF to compress over 2025 in-line with our lower iron ore price forecasts. The company does have levers it can pull on opex and capex if required."
Gold price rises
It could be a decent session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price edged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.7% to US$2,993.7 an ounce. Safe haven demand gave the precious metal a lift.
Buy Mineral Resources shares
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares could be dirt cheap according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating on the mining and mining services company's shares with a $29.00 price target. This implies potential upside of almost 80% for investors. It said: "We share the view that iron ore will continue to see support in the US$80/t – US$100/t range. MIN's share price implies long-term iron ore of ~US$82.5/t, which we think is overly pessimistic, given the consistent support that the price has enjoyed at the US$100/t level."
