Asian equities see a colourless open trade with indices flat following an uninspiring lead from Wall Street, where stocks were choppy, and range bound. Commodity traders were paying attention to the energy complex with Crude futures traded above USD 74/bbl briefly. The macro calendar is light, as the primary data point for the day will be the U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, with participants trying to gauge the U.S. job market to take a firmer position with a slightly hawkish Fed. Global fixed income traders and bank sector investors are waiting for the Fed’s stress tests as well, with individual bank results and any subsequent revisions to capital plans to be announced on Monday, June 28th.
On the crypto front, China continues to crack down on Bitcoin. According to reports, it may drive miners out of the country and towards Texas due to cheap electricity and a more welcoming environment. On the trade front, the U.S. is set to bar some solar products made in China’s Xinjiang region; it might give some punch in stocks of the sector in Asia. Furthermore, the White House is studying a call with China’s President Xi. The meeting would be the first high-level engagement between the sides since the March Alaska event. U.S. and China relations is a relevant macro theme after a bumpy road for the global markets during the trade war on Trump administration.
