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On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 7,739.9 points.
Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX 200 expected to jump
The Australian share market looks set to jump on Thursday following a decent night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 74 points or 0.95% higher this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones was down 0.05%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq pushed 0.9% higher.
Oil prices storm higher
ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a great session after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.1% to US$83.71 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.1% to US$87.16 a barrel. A large drop in US crude and gasoline inventories boosted oil prices.
Buy Premier Investments shares
Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) shares are good value according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating and $35.00 price target on the retail giant’s shares. It said: “We view PMV’s P/E multiple of ~15x (FY25e, BPe) as attractive, considering the value that we see emerging from the potential demerger of PMV’s two key brands, Smiggle and Peter Alexander which are global roll-out worthy somewhat similar to some of the dominant players such as LOV and LULU, highly profitable in comparison to the peer group (EBIT margins wise).”
Gold price jumps
It could be a great session for ASX 200 gold shares such as Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price raced higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 1.3% to US$2,364.2 an ounce. Soft economic data out of the US boosted hopes of interest rate cuts.
Liontown rated neutral
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares have been given a neutral rating by analysts at Goldman Sachs this morning. In response to the lithium developer’s funding update, the broker has reiterated its neutral rating and cut its price target to $1.15 (from $1.35). Goldman is feeling cautiously upbeat about Liontown. It highlights there is “significant potential valuation uplift from de-risking/valuation roll-forward.”