On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with a small gain. The benchmark index rose slightly to 8,728.6 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 expected to push higher
The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Tuesday following a strong start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 35 points or 0.4% higher. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 1.55%, the S&P 500 is 0.7% higher, and the Nasdaq is up 0.65%.
Oil prices rise
It could be a good session for ASX 200 energy shares Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.7% to US$58.29 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.6% to US$61.74 a barrel. Traders were buying oil in response to Venezuelan uncertainty.
BlueScope takeover
BlueScope Steel Ltd (ASX: BSL) shares will be on watch today after the steel products company confirmed that it has received a $30.00 per share takeover offer from a consortium comprising SGH Ltd (ASX: SGH) and US-based Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD). After rejecting three earlier offers, the company is currently considering this one.
Gold price charges higher
ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) could have a good session on Tuesday after the gold price jumped overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 2.8% to US$4,449 an ounce. This was driven by safe haven demand after UK strikes on Venezuela.
Buy Northern Star shares
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are good value according to analysts at Bell Potter. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $30.00 price target on the gold miner's shares. In response to last week's selloff following a production downgrade, Bell Potter said: "NST closed 8.6% lower on the announcement equating to A$3.3bn in market capitalisation loss. Assuming that these issues are merely one-offs, with production normalizing over 2H, we would argue the response is potentially overdone."
