By Deepta Bolaky
 @DeeptaGOMarkets

Equity Markets

The primary driver of risk sentiment on Wall Street was the positive trade comments from the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin:

‘We were about 90% of the way’ on China trade deal, and there’s a ‘path to complete this.’

The performance of major US equity benchmarks was mixed:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended relatively flat while S&P500 fell by 0.12%.
• The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.32% at 7.909.97.

Technology stocks were among the best performer in the US session.

• Micron Technology rebounded to $37.04 following a rise of 13.34% after the chipmaker resumes some Huawei shipments after finding that a “subset” of products are not subject to the bank rules.

• Apple shares added 2.16% at $199.80 after the announcement of its acquisition of a self-driving car start-up – Drive.ai.

Currency Markets

In the forex markets, major currencies were weaker against the US dollar. The greenback trimmed gains after the releases of a series of US data. Durable goods in May dropped to -1.3%.

Source: Bloomberg Terminal

The Antipodeans were among the best performing G10 currencies against the US dollar as positive trade comments ahead of the G20 summit revived trade hopes. The Aussie dollar will remain at the broader sentiment of the market amid lack of economic releases.

As of writing, AUDUSD is firmer at 69.85 US cents.

Commodities

Another larger-than-expected draw of crude oil inventories reported by Energy Information Administration (EIA) from -3.106M to -12.788M bolstered the rally in oil prices.

WTI and Brent Crude Oil are trading in the upper range of $58 and $65 respectively.

UKOUSD and USOUSD (Hourly Chart)

Source: GO MT4

A less-dovish statement by the Fed weighed on the yellow metal which remained mostly under heavy selling pressure through the European trading session.

XAUUSD found support around the $1,400 on the back of weak US economic data.

As of writing, XAUUSD is currently trading at $1,420.

XAUUSD (2-Day Chart)

Source: Bloomberg Terminal

Cryptocurrencies

The buzz of the week appears to be Bitcoin which soars past $13,000, Libra is viewed as the gateway to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, which is, therefore, a net positive for the crypto-market despite having the potential to be a threat to traditional digital currencies.

The resurgence of cryptocurrencies suggests that investors may be using digital assets to diversify their portfolio in an economy when interest rates are near all-time lows.

BTCUSD (2-Day Chart)

Source: GO MT4

Key Upcoming Events Ahead

Friday, 28 June 2019 Indicative Index Dividends Dividends are in Points
ASX200	WS30	US500	US2000	NDX100	CAC40	STOXX50
0	0	0.1391	0.158	0	0	0
ESP35	ITA40	FTSE100	DAX30	HK50	JP225	INDIA50
5.894	0	0	0	0	0	0