On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a positive note with a 0.15% gain to 6,185.5 points.
Will the local market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:
ASX futures pointing lower.
The Australian share market is expected to open the day lower on Monday. According to the latest SPI futures, the S&P/ASX 200 is poised to open 0.45% or 20 points lower this morning. This follows a disappointing end to the week on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.7%, the S&P 500 drop 0.55%, and the Nasdaq tumble 1.2%.
U.S. bond yields hit 7-year high.
Wall Street tumbled lower after the U.S. non-farm payrolls monthly jobs report showed another month of rising wages and a sharp revision higher to August's non-farm payrolls. According to CNBC, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2011 after the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7%. This is a level that has not been seen in almost 50 years.
Australian dollar weakens.
The strong jobs number put further pressure on the Australian dollar, which finished the week at 70.5 U.S. cents. At this level companies that generate meaningful sales in the United States, such as Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), are likely to benefit greatly from favourable currency movements.
Wesfarmers will be on watch.
The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price will be on watch on Monday after analysts and investors had time to look through the Coles demerger plans. One broker that appears to like what it has seen is Goldman Sachs. It has retained its buy rating but cut the price target on its shares slightly to $52.70.
Shares paying dividends.
A number of popular shares will be paying their dividends to shareholders today. Eligible shareholders of the likes of fund manager Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT), conglomerate Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW), and logistics platform provider WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are all due to receive a pay check today.
