Things to watch on the ASX today

Australian Stock Markets

Will the market be able to bounce back on Tuesday? Here are five things that could shape today’s trade:

The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) started the new financial year with a day in the red on Monday. It gave back its early gains to finish the day down 0.3% to 6,177.8 points.

ASX expected to open the day higher.

According to the latest SPI futures, the local market is expected to open the day higher by 0.3% or 21 points on Tuesday. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw U.S. markets rebound from early declines to push notably higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.15%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.3%, and the NASDAQ pushed almost 0.8% higher.

Reserve Bank of Australia meets today.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet at 14:30 AEST today to discuss the cash rate. Think there is not a single economist in the country that expects the central bank to make a move on rates.

In fact, the consensus appears to be for rates to remain on hold at the record low of 1.5% until at least the end of 2019.

Toll road operator Atlas Arteria announces fees.

The shares of Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX), formerly known as Macquarie Atlas Roads, will be on watch on Tuesday after providing its final performance fee. According to the release, a final performance fee was earned by Atlas Arteria’s manager, Macquarie Fund Advisers, for the 12 months ended 30 June 2018.

During this period, the company outperformed the S&P/ASX 300 Industrials Accumulation Index by 10.8%, resulting in a 2018 performance fee of $54.7 million. The 2018 performance fee will be payable in one instalment.

Oil prices give back gains.
Oil prices have taken a tumble overnight after data revealed a surprise rise in output from Saudi Arabia and Russia. The WTI crude oil price has fallen 0.1% to US$74.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 2.3% to US$77.39 a barrel.

This could put pressure on the shares of Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL).

Amaysim shares tipped as a buy.
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and placed a $1.30 price target on Amaysim Australia Ltd (ASX: AYS) shares.

Despite the company suffering a slowdown in subscriber growth, the broker sees a lot of value in its shares at the current level.

Things to watch on the ASX on Tuesday

Australian Stock Markets

Will the market be able to build on this on Monday's solid start to the week? Here are five things that could shape the day’s trade:

On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) had a solid start to the week and finished the day 0.3% higher at 6,135.3 points.

ASX futures are pointing higher again.

According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is expected to open the day 2 points higher following a mixed night of trade in U.S. markets. The Dow Jones ended the day 0.3% higher, the S&P 500 was up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq ended 0.1% higher.

Oil prices rebound.
Energy producers BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch after oil prices rebounded strongly after a spot of weakness. According to Bloomberg, WTI crude oil climbed 0.6% to US$71.11 a barrel and Brent crude oil rose 1.7% to US$78.43 a barrel. Overnight OPEC lifted its forecast for global oil demand growth this year.

Reserve Bank minutes.
The minutes from the latest Reserve Bank of Australia meeting will be released later this morning. Although there is unlikely to be any bombshells in the minutes, the market will be looking out for any change in rhetoric around Australian wage growth. In addition to this, deputy governor Guy Debelle is due to give a speech this morning.

NAB shares go ex-dividend.
The shares of National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) are likely to sink into the red this morning after going ex-dividend for the bank’s 99 cents per share fully franked interim dividend. Eligible shareholders will receive this dividend in their nominated account on July 5. Eligible shareholders of Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) are due to be paid the retail conglomerate’s interim dividend today.

Telstra shares will be on watch.
Telco giant Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) will be on watch on Tuesday after Monday’s 5% slide. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, the broker has reduced its earnings forecasts in light of yesterday’s update but still sees a lot of value in the company’s shares. It has a buy rating and reduced price target of $3.90 on its shares.

ASX: Things to watch today

Australian Stock Markets

On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued its positive run and pushed 0.26% higher to 6,108 points.

This means the benchmark index has now climbed an impressive 4.2% since this time last month.
Will the local market be able to continue its run on Thursday? Here are five things that could impact today’s trade:

ASX futures are pushing higher.
According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is set to follow the lead of U.S. markets and climb higher today. At the time of writing SPI futures point to the market opening 0.3% or 21 points higher. Overnight the Dow Jones ended 0.75% higher, the S&P 500 was up close to 1%, and the Nasdaq was also up 1%.

Oil prices hit three-year highs.
The key driver of the gains on Wall Street overnight were rising oil prices which rallied to a three-and-a-half-year high on the back of potential Iran sanctions. According to Bloomberg, WTI crude oil rose 3.2% to US$71.30 a barrel and Brent crude oil leapt 3.4% higher to US$77.40 a barrel. This will be great news for energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT), BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH).
  
Result releases.
This morning accounting software platform provider Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) is due to release its full-year results to the market. Yesterday its shares hit a new 52-week high of $41.37, indicating that investors are confident in a strong result today. In addition to Xero, Pendal Group Limited (ASX: PDL) (formerly known as BT Investment Management) is expected to release its half-year result.

Commonwealth Bank will be on watch.
The shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) will be on watch on Thursday. Yesterday the banking giant released a disappointing third-quarter update which led to its shares falling around 3%. Shareholders will be hoping for a rebound this morning, but that may depend on what brokers have to say.

Bond proxies could be under pressure.
U.S. bond yields widened overnight on the back of expectations that rising oil prices could lead to quicker than expected inflation in the United States. The 10-year Treasury yield rose above the symbolic 3% level once again. This could put pressure on bond proxies such as Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Macquarie Atlas Roads Limited (ASX: MQA).