On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and charged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 8,873.8 points.
Will the market build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to edge lower
The Australian share market looks set for a soft finish to the week following a mixed night in the United States. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 1 point lower this morning. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down slightly, the S&P 500 was up a fraction, and the Nasdaq dropped modestly.
Oil prices rise
It looks set to be a decent finish to the week for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.5% to US$63.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.4% to US$66.56 a barrel. Oil prices climbed ahead of a Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.
Cochlear results
Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) shares will be on watch today when the hearing solutions company releases its full year results. According to a note out of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), its analysts are expecting a 4.9% increase in total revenue to $2,346 million and a 2.6% lift in underlying net profit after tax to $397 million. It is then forecasting high-teen earnings per share growth for FY 2026.
Gold price falls
ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a relatively poor finish to the week after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.7% to US$3,383.6 an ounce. This was driven by hotter than expected US inflation data, which has dampened interest rate cut hopes.
Hold Telstra shares
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are fully valued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, in response to its full year results, the broker has retained its buy rating with an improved price target of $4.75. It said: "We have increased the multiple we apply in the PE ratio valuation from 23x to 24x and also the multiple we apply to the Mobile business in the sum-of-the-parts from 7.5x to 8x. We have also rolled forward the DCF and DDM by a year given we are now in FY26 but there is no change in the WACC we apply of 8.9%. The net result is a 2% increase in our PT to $4.75 which is a modest discount to the share price so we maintain the HOLD recommendation."
