On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fought back from a poor start to end the day a fraction higher. The benchmark index rose slightly to 8,917.7 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 to fall
The Australian share market looks set for a subdued day on Wednesday following a mixed night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 20 points or 0.25% lower. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose 0.65%, but the S&P 500 fell 0.55% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.15%.
Oil prices continue to tumble
ASX 200 energy shares including 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 5.1% to US$76.66 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 4.45% to US$79.47 a barrel. This follows reports that the US will allow Iran to sell oil immediately.
Buy Dexus Convenience shares
Bell Potter is bullish on Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (ASX: DXC) shares. This morning, the broker has named the REIT as a buy with a trimmed price target of $3.15 (from $3.25). It said: "We maintain our Buy rating on DXC and lower our target price to $3.15. The buyback and developments offer attractive long-term returns, despite the short-term headwinds from rising bond yields. With our revised forecasts DXC is yielding 7.9% vs. 6.4% passive REIT average which we think offers compelling risk adjusted value, and at an implied 8.21% cap rate, despite recent asset sales supporting book value."
Gold price edges higher
ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch on Wednesday after the gold price edged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.1% to US$4,353.3 an ounce. Easing interest rate hike bets have given the precious metal a boost.
SpaceX now bigger than Amazon
Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: SPCX) shares continued their post-IPO rise overnight on Wall Street. This has taken the space and AI company's shares to a market capitalisation of US$2.66 trillion, which takes it ahead of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and within sight of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).
