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On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back its intraday gains to end the day in the red. The benchmark index fell 0.2% to 8,799.5 points.
Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to rise
The Australian share market looks set to rise on Thursday following a mixed night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 14 points or 0.15% higher this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is up 0.7%, and the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, but the Nasdaq is down 0.35%.
Oil prices sink
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session on Thursday after oil prices sank overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 4.15% to US$58.51 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 3.75% to US$62.72 a barrel. This was driven by oversupply concerns.
Xero results
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares will be on watch on Thursday when the cloud accounting platform provider releases its half year results. According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts are expecting Xero to report revenue of NZ$1,212 million, EBITDA of NZ$344 million, and an adjusted net profit after tax of NZ$154 million. Macquarie currently has an outperform rating and $228.90 price target on its shares.
Gold price charges higher
It could be a good session for ASX 200 gold shares including Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price charged higher. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 2.1% to US$4,204 an ounce. This was driven by optimism that the US government will soon reopen.
Buy Aristocrat shares
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) shares could be great value according to analysts at Bell Potter. In response to the gaming technology company’s results, the broker has retained its buy rating with an improved price target of $80.00. It said: “We retain our Buy recommendation. We continue to expect ALL’s leading R&D investment will drive market share gains. Top 2 game performance observed in both the core sales and premium gaming ops markets leaves us confident that ALL will grow the install base >4.0k per year and grow global shipments. Further, with leverage standing at 0.2x, ALL has substantial M&A firepower to boost growth inorganically.”
