On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the week with a decent gain. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 8,231.2 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise again
The Australian share market looks set for a good start to the week on Monday despite a poor finish to the week on Wall Street on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 16 points or 0.2% higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq was flat.
Oil prices rise
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 rose on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was up 1.85% to US$61.02 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was up 1.7% to US$63.91 a barrel. Oil prices rose on optimism over US-China trade talks.
NAB shares go ex-dividend
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are due to go ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. When a share trades ex-dividend, it means the rights to an upcoming dividend are settled and new buyers won't be entitled to receive it on pay day. Last week, NAB declared a fully franked 85 cents per share interim dividend. This will be paid to eligible shareholders on 2 July.
Gold price rises
ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a good start to the week after the gold price pushed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the gold futures price was up 1.15% to US$3,344 an ounce. This was driven partly by US dollar weakness.
Buy REA shares
Rea Group Ltd (ASX: REA) shares are in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. The broker was pleased with the property listings giant's third quarter update and has retained its buy rating with a $269 price target. It said: "We believe REA is among the highest-quality names in our coverage, given it has the highest ability to continue to drive pricing, with: (1) significant disparity between lead share and revenue share; (2) the lowest cost relative to overall vertical transaction; (3) a profitable and still fragmented end market; and (4) the existence of Vendor Paid advertising, with strong valuation support with current trading multiples in-line with historical levels. We are therefore Buy rated on REA."
