On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week with the smallest of gains. The benchmark index rose slightly to 8,603 points.
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 open flat
The Australian share market looks set for a subdued start to the week after Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day flat. In Europe, the Dax was down 0.6%, the FTSE was flat, and the CAC was down 0.75%.
Oil prices fall
It could be a subdued start to the week for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) after oil prices fell on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price was down 0.75% to US$66.50 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price was down 0.7% to US$68.30 a barrel. This followed news that OPEC has decided to increase production by more than expected in August.
Buy Cleanaway shares
The Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY) share price could be in the buy zone according to analysts at Morgans. This morning, the broker has retained its accumulate rating with an improved price target of $3.12. The broker said: "CWY announced today that the ACCC had approved its acquisition of Contract Resources. It plans to complete the acquisition on 31 July 2025. We update our model for the acquisition completing four months earlier than we had previously assumed. The earlier completion benefits our FY26F Revenue/EBITDA/EBIT by 3%/2%/1% but has no impact on PBT given the assumed additional interest costs from earlier funding of the acquisition."
Gold price edges higher
ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a decent start to the week after the gold price rose slightly on Friday night. According to CNBC, the gold futures price was up 0.1% to US$3,346.5 an ounce. This meant the gold price recorded a weekly gain.
Trade tariffs
On Friday, US President Donald Trump revealed that the US government will start sending out letters to countries with details of higher US tariff rates that will begin on 1 August. Trump stated that the import duties will range from "60% or 70% tariffs to 10 to 20% tariffs," according to the BBC. The top end of this range is higher than he had previously outlined. This has the potential to cause some volatility today and over the course of the week.
