All eyes will be on Washington D.C. this week as Vice Premier Wu Yi meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for the second round of strategic talks between the two powers. Topics on the table include, the yuan, the widening trade gap between the two countries and intellectual property rights. Tune in to CNBC's detailed analysis and China coverage on our television programs and website.
Investors will also keep an eye on Japan throughout the week for a stream of earnings reports and regional economic analysis coming from the Nikkei’s 13th International Conference.
On Monday, all eyes will be on the Nikkei 225 Average to see how the market will react to the first batch of earnings results from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Trust and Banking. Analysts are predicting the banks will suffer double-digit declines, as higher interest rates failed to produce a jump in revenues. Market participants expect Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial Group to post net profit falls of between 17% – 33% when their reports are released later in the week.
Tuesday sees Vice Premier Wu Yi meeting with Henry Paulson in D.C.. The Chinese delegation’s visit will include discussions with U.S. lawmakers, who have expressed concerned over the widening trade deficit and the government-controlled renminbi.
At the midweek, traders will watch to see if the belle of the trading session turns out to be Belle International Holdings in its much-anticipated stock debut. Sources close to the company say that China's largest retailer of women's shoes has raised a cool US$1.1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), making it the largest Chinese IPO abroad ever. Analysts at KGI Asia predict Belle International will become one of the largest Chinese domestic consumption plays listed on the Hang Seng Index.
The Hang Seng takes the day off Thursday to celebrate the birth of Buddha, while Asian economists turn their attention to Tokyo for inside analysis on the region’s economies at the 13th International Conference On The Future Of Asia also known as the Nikkei Conference. CNBC’s Kaori Enjoji will sit down with select leaders and economists from the event. Stay tuned for highlights on CNBC Asia.
Also on Thursday, trade is likely to be cautious ahead of U.S. durable goods and new home sales data as investors look to add another month of solid, albeit modest gains. Participants will be looking for further signs of housing market stabilization and any hints of better growth in the U.S. economy.
Finally, at the week’s close, Singapore releases its first-quarter gross domestic production numbers. Later in the session, the U.S. will release existing homes sales figures for the month of April.
Here are some company earnings to be released in the workweek ahead: