On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fought hard and recorded a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.15% to 8,537 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to rise again
The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Wednesday following a positive night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 81 points or 0.95% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 1.25%, the S&P 500 is up 0.6%, and the Nasdaq is 0.2% higher.
Oil prices tumble
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session after oil prices tumbled overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.55% to US$57.93 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.5% to US$62.44 a barrel. This was driven by reports that Ukraine is ready to accept a Russian peace deal.
Annual general meetings
A number of ASX 200 shares will be on watch today when they hold their annual general meetings. Among the companies holding events are retail giant Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN), lithium miner Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR), and rare earths producer Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC). It is possible that they will release trading updates before the market opens.
Gold price rises
It could be a good session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Wednesday after the gold price stormed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 1% to US$4,134.7 an ounce. US interest rate cut optimism has given the gold price a lift.
Buy IPD shares
The team at Bell Potter thinks investors should be buying IPD Group Ltd (ASX: IPG) shares. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating and $5.00 price target on this electrical solutions company's shares. It said: "IPG is well positioned to capitalise on the Commercial construction market recovery currently underway as well as continued strong momentum in Data Centre and Infrastructure construction activity. IPG represents a relatively undervalued Industrials business compared with the ASX300 Industrials index with strong re-rate potential, in our view."
