Gold futures eased a touch in New York on Friday, despite the continuing flow of gloomy news about Greece and the eurozone, but still managed to settle above $US1,200 an ounce on Comex.

A messy week ahead for share markets – Greece’s financial woes and the rising volatility in China will override other news and send investors off on a hunt for some safe havens.

The EU leaders conference tonight in Brussels to discuss the Greece situation – and Chinese sharemarkets are jumpy. But the most immediate problem is the health of Greece’s banks – it is now clear that Greeks are withdrawing billions of euros because they are scared the political toing and froing will trigger a crisis.

Yes, Greece is the big drawcard for global markets, but China is the biggest concern because a few explosive days of selling could quite easily turn global sentiment on its head – and if it happened with Greece stumbling towards failure, then things could get rather hairy.

As buoyant as world markets were overnight – one wasn’t and its the one that everyone is now eyeing, nervously – no matter the new highs on Wall Street.

The ASX will open strongly this morning after offshore markets shook off more fears about Greece’s financial position.

With a thump, the New Zealand economy has come back to the field, slowing sharply in the three months to March as the slide in global dairy prices and local farm incomes started to bite and lower oil prices hit activity.

Another tantalising signal that the slide in China’s housing sector is bottoming out with news that the year long fall in house prices slowed again in May.

US financial markets ended in the green this morning, despite the Federal Reserve two day meeting confirming that a rate rise this year looks very likely.

Although the overnight futures market says the ASX should start with a bit of a bang today, investors should watch for the impact of a sharp fall in iron ore prices overnight which could develop into something more substantial.

While Australia’s main rural forecaster has trimmed forecast production levels for wheat, cotton and other agricultural commodities in 2015-16 as the expected El Nino triggered drought hits wide areas of rural Australia, livestock however should do okay.

ASX 200 futures fell 6 points or 0.1% overnight Friday as Wall Street slid on nerves about the Fed meeting this week and confusion about what is happening with the Greece bailout.

Every market globally – from equities to property, to gold, oil, shares and bonds and beyond – will have more than a weather eye on the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting in Washington this week.

Central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve, will dominate the coming week globally, but no one is expecting a rise in US interest rates.

Yet another move by China’s stockmarket regulators to try and cool the bubbling bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen, by increasing pressure on margin trading.

Standby for the first rise in the local market for a week.

New Zealand has surprised by cutting its key interest rate, joining Australia in easing monetary policy as demand slows because of falling commodity prices and weak inflation.

Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens yesterday showed the sort of leadership that the Federal Government, especially treasurer Joe Hockey, has refused to exhibit on the Sydney house price boom.

Don’t expect to see an immediate boom in Chinese sharemarkets from today after the global index group, MSCI deferred a decision on the immediate inclusion of so-called A-List shares in its widely followed Emerging Markets and other global market benchmarks.

So will China’s central bank cut interest rates for a 4th time since last November after a sharp slowing in consumer inflation in May and no change in the intense deflation gripping the country’s manufacturing and service sectors?

A mixed economic report card yesterday locally with a series of data releases painting conflicting pictures of activity and demand.

Our market will be lower today after another weak night offshore, especially in Europe and the US. But that’s not the big deal for global markets. Early Wednesday morning could see the investment landscape change dramatically.