On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and sank deep into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.95% to 8,926.2 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to fall again
The Australian share market looks set to fall again on Thursday following a mixed night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 40 points or 0.45% lower this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.2%, the S&P 500 is flat, and the Nasdaq is up 0.55%.
Oil prices rise
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a decent session on Thursday after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.3% to US$60.33 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$64.79 a barrel. A large decline in US stockpiles was behind this rise.
Annual general meetings
A number of ASX 200 shares are holding their annual general meetings today and could provide the market with trading updates. Among the companies holding events are corporate travel specialist Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD), healthcare company Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS). Retail giant JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH), and Bunning and Kmart owner Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).
Gold price fall
It could be a poor session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price tumbled into the red. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.75% to US$3,952.3 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after the US Federal Reserve cast doubts on a December rate cut.
Buy Woolworths shares
Now could be the time to buy Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has upgraded the supermarket giant's shares to a buy rating with a $30.70 price target. It said: "We upgrade from Hold to Buy. WOW has been in an earnings downgrade cycle for two years and this looks to be coming to an end. Trading at a reasonable ~12% discount to COL and ~14% discount to its historical FWD EV/EBITDA, there is now a reasonable valuation arbitrage, just as the underperformance in Australian Food looks to be bottoming and out-of-home indicators improving (the latter a positive for B2B)."
