On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) followed Wall Street's lead and dropped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.1% to 8,802 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 rebound
The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Thursday following a strong night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 65 points or 0.75% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 0.7%, the S&P 500 is up 0.8%, and the Nasdaq is 1.2% higher.
Oil prices drop
ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session on Thursday after oil prices dropped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.2% to US$59.83 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.1% to US$63.72 a barrel. Macroeconomic concerns are weighing on oil prices.
NAB results
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares will be on watch on Thursday when the banking giant releases its FY 2025 results. The team at Macquarie expects the bank to outperform expectations in the second half. It said: "We are ~2% ahead of consensus on a pre-provision basis in 2H25E. We see upside risk to margins thanks to lower liquids and favourable funding trends." The broker is forecasting a full year pre-provision profit of $11,084 million (consensus: $10,992 million) and cash earnings of $7,278 million (consensus: $7,183 million). A final dividend of 85 cents per share is expected by the broker.
Gold price rises
It could be a better session for ASX 200 gold shares such as Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.8% to US$3,991.7 an ounce. This was driven by increased demand for safe haven assets.
Buy Catapult shares
Now could be the time to buy Catapult Sports Ltd (ASX: CAT) shares according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has upgraded the sports technology company's shares to a buy rating with a $7.50 price target. It said: "The upgrade is driven by valuation and, while we do not expect any positive surprises at the upcoming 1HFY26 result later this month, equally we do not expect any negative surprises given narrow guidance ranges for key figures/metrics have already been provided."
