On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recovered from a poor start to end the day flat at 8,808.5 points.
Will the market be able to push on from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:
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ASX 200 to rise
The Australian share market looks set for a good session on Wednesday following a solid night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 45 points higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose slightly, the S&P 500 climbed 0.4%, and the Nasdaq stormed 0.9% higher.
Oil prices climb again
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have another good day of trade on Wednesday after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.4% to US$80.02 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.8% to US$85.62 a barrel. This was driven by news that the US has launched new strikes on Iran.
Buy Nick Scali shares
Bell Potter continues to rate Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) shares as a buy. However, the broker has trimmed its price target from $25.00 to $22.00. This still implies potential upside of 40% and a dividend yield of 4%. It said: "With a cautiously optimistic view on the broader Consumer Discretionary sector and looking through to mid-term opportunities, we continue to favour category outperformers such as NCK and see lower risk on margins in manoeuvring revenue growth vs other retailers in our coverage. This sees us sitting ahead of median Consensus in FY27/28e (below in FY26e). We view NCK among the highest quality retailers in our coverage, with a stable market share in ANZ and UK offering sufficient growth levers."
Gold price rises
ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a good session on Wednesday after the gold price rebounded overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 1.3% to US$4,058.1 an ounce. Traders were bidding gold higher after US inflation came in softer than expected.
Evolution Mining update
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares will be on watch on Wednesday when the gold miner releases its fourth-quarter update. When Evolution Mining released its last quarterly update, it revealed that it was on track for a strong result. It said: "On track to deliver FY26 gold production at lower than original cost guidance with March quarter production of 170koz gold and 11kt copper at an All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $2,220/oz."
