The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 200 is poised for a positive start on Monday, with futures indicating an opening higher by 24 points or 0.3%, following a strong finish on Wall Street last Friday. This comes after the ASX 200 experienced a downturn of 0.55% over the previous week, closing at 6,976.5 points.
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is anticipated to unveil its full-year results soon. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has forecasted an 18.4% rise in cash earnings for the financial year 2023 to $7,711 million, which would exceed the consensus estimates.
Despite a third consecutive weekly fall in oil prices, energy companies such as Beach Energy (OTC:BCHEY) Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) may see their shares open higher due to an uptick in WTI and Brent crude oil prices.
Goldman Sachs has also given NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) a buy rating, with a price target set at $8.40, citing positive trends in the private health insurance industry.
However, gold stocks like Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) might face headwinds at the start of trading as gold prices have been impacted by hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve.
In related market news, Moody's (NYSE:MCO) recently downgraded the US debt outlook to Negative while maintaining its "Aaa" rating. Market participants are also looking ahead to significant economic data releases this coming week, including US inflation rate data on Tuesday, Chinese retail sales, UK inflation figures, and US retail and PPI prices on Wednesday, with UK retail sales and US housing permits data concluding the week on Friday.
The Australian share market commenced Sunday positively with a .34% rise in futures after strong performances by major US indexes and tech giants such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta (NASDAQ:META), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). ANZ bank reported an impressive after-tax profit exceeding $7 billion and a 14% increase in cash profit for FY23 along with a partially franked final dividend of 94 cents per share.
Looking ahead to Monday's economic indicators, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is set to release Working Arrangement data that will offer insights into employment flexibility and security within the country. Key market indicators have shown the Australian Dollar trading at 64 US cents, Bitcoin reaching an 18-month high at $58k, iron ore priced at $130 per tonne, crude oil climbing nearly two percent to $77 per barrel, while gold has slipped below $1940 per ounce and natural gas is trading just above $3.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.