On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a positive session and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 8,720.8 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set to rise on Friday despite a mixed night in the United States. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 23 points or 0.25% higher this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.5%, but the S&P 500 is down 0.1% and the Nasdaq is down 0.7%.
Oil prices jump
It could be a good finish to the week for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) after oil prices jumped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.9% to US$58.15 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 4.1% to US$62.41 a barrel. This was driven by supply worries in Russia, Iraq, and Iran.
DroneShield shares on watch
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares will be on watch on Friday after US defence stocks surged overnight. The catalyst for this was news that Donald Trump is aiming for a US$1.5 trillion defence budget by 2027. On TruthSocial, he wrote: "After the long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars."
Gold price softens
ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) could have a subdued finish to the week after the gold price edged lower overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.05% to US$4,459.8 an ounce. The precious metal eased ahead of the release of US jobs data.
Northern Star update
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares will be on watch today after the gold miner responded to a query from the Australian stock exchange. When quizzed about its lack of cost guidance, it said: "[A]ny impact on annual cost guidance is not yet known to NST because the Company requires further, more complete information (that is not yet available to it) and to make further, reasonable enquiries of operational drivers to form a reasonably certain view of that impact and its materiality."
