On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fought hard and ended the day with the smallest of gains. The benchmark index rose a fraction to 8,559.2 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to fall
The Australian share market looks set to fall on Thursday following a mixed night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 41 points or 0.5% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones was down 0.25%, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%.
Oil prices rebound
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a better session after oil prices rose overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.1% to US$65.08 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1% to US$67.79 a barrel. Traders appear to believe that oil prices have been oversold since the Israel-Iran ceasefire.
Hold A2 Milk shares
The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is fully valued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its hold rating and $7.85 price target on its shares. It said: "Our Hold rating is unchanged and predicated on: (1) A2M's premium to global FCMG (11.5x FY26e EBITDA) and Functional FMCG entities (15.1x FY26e EBITDA); (2) An analysis of vertical integration opportunities, which concluded likely negative near term EPS dilution; and (3) Recent peer commentary implying an uplift in new customer recruitment costs."
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) on Thursday after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.4% to US$3,347.2 an ounce. The gold price edged higher ahead of the release of key US economic data.
Xero acquisition
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares will be on watch today if the cloud accounting platform provider returns from its trading halt. The company requested a halt yesterday so it could raise funds for the $3.9 billion acquisition of Melio. It is a leading US small business bill pay platform that seamlessly integrates Accounting and Payments, offering US small businesses and their advisors easy-to-use accounts payable workflows and a wide choice of payment methods. Xero is raising $1.85 billion at $176 per new share.
