On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) spent the day in the red and finished it down 0.3% to 6,169.5 points.
Will the local market be able to bounce back on Friday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing higher.
The Australian share market could finish the week on a positive note. The latest SPI futures are pointing to the S&P/ASX 200 opening the day 0.35% or 22 points higher on Friday. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones surge 0.95%, the S&P 500 rise 0.8%, and the Nasdaq push 1% higher.
Oil prices slide lower.
Energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) could be in the red today after oil prices gave back some of their recent gains. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 0.45% to US$70.80 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 0.9% to US$78.70 a barrel.
Ellex releases clinical trial results.
The Ellex Medical Lasers Ltd (ASX: ELX) share price will be on watch today after the medical technology company released the results of its LEAD study after the market close. The three-year, randomised, multi-centre clinical trial was investigating the efficacy of Ellex 2RT Retinal Rejuvenation Therapy in intermediate age-related macular degeneration patients. Although the results showed a four-fold reduction in the rate of progression to late stage AMD in 76% of patients, the primary endpoint of the trial was not met.
BWX named as a buy.
The BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX) share price could be on the rise on Friday after a note out of Goldman Sachs revealed that it has reinstated coverage on the personal care products company with a buy rating and $5.60 price target. Although the broker acknowledges that it is not quite out of the woods, its potential remains.
Smiggle spin-off.
Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) shares will be on watch today after the AFR suggested that the latest expansion strategy for its Smiggle brand could be the foundation for a spin-off at a later date. I think it would make a lot of sense to spin-off Smiggle and its Peter Alexander brand.
