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5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

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On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a subdued session and recorded another decline. The benchmark index fell 0.35% to 8,670.7 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 to edge lower

The Australian share market looks set to fall again on Wednesday following a relatively poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose 0.1%, but the S&P 500 fell 0.15% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%.

Oil prices storm higher

ASX 200 energy shares including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 4.4% to US$102.38 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 3.45% to US$107.82 a barrel. Traders were buying oil after US-Iran peace deal hopes faded.

Aristocrat Leisure results

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) shares will be on watch on Wednesday when the gaming technology company releases its half-year results. According to a note out of UBS, its analysts are expecting Aristocrat to report double-digit growth, with EBITA of $1.12 billion and a net profit of $798 million.

Gold price slips

ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a subdued session on Wednesday after the gold price slipped overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.2% to US$4,719.9 an ounce. Rising oil prices have created interest rate uncertainty in the US, which is weighing on the precious metal.

Buy Life360 shares

Bell Potter thinks investors should be buying Life360 Inc. (ASX: 360) shares following the release of its first-quarter update. In response to the update, the broker has retained its buy rating on the family safety and location technology company’s shares with a trimmed price target of $32.59 (from $35.50). It said: “1Q2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA of US$143.1m and US$17.1m were 4% and 18% ahead of our forecasts and 4% and 14% ahead of VA consensus. The key positive of the result was the strong paying circle growth of 201k q-o-q which was more than double our forecast of 99k and well ahead of VA consensus of 109k. The key negative was the MAU growth of only 2.0m q-o-q which was well below our forecast of 2.6m and further below VA consensus of 3.1m.”

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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