ASX 200 Futures Point Down, GYG Makes Strong Debut, New Bitcoin ETF Listing Today

The ASX 200 is poised to edge slightly lower when the market opens on Thursday, with Wall Street out for the Juneteenth national holiday. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing down by -0.2%.

Overnight, stock markets in Europe were generally lower as traders looked for new catalysts to sustain the recent tech-driven rally. The benchmark European Stoxx 600 index slipped -0.2% following two consecutive days of gains. The French CAC40 also fell by -0.77%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 closed +0.17% higher.

Investors kept an eye on developments in France after the European Union criticised it for not adhering to the bloc’s deficit and debt rules. The French 10-year bond yields jumped by 4 basis points.

The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision tonight. Despite inflation dropping to the target level of 2%, the market believes a rate cut might not be considered until August.

Meanwhile, for the first time in nearly two years, the London Stock Exchange has become the biggest in Europe. The total value of companies listed on the LSE reached US$3.18 trillion earlier this week, surpassing the US$3.13 trillion total of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data. The French market has struggled due to election-related uncertainty, while the UK market is bouncing back after years of underperformance.

Another new listing today is the GYG, the first ever spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia. The listing follows the success of US Bitcoin ETFs, which have collectively amassed US$57 billion this year, introduced by prominent fundies such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck.

“Notwithstanding that crypto investing is a polarising topic, we recognise Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many advisers and investors want to access,” said Arian Neiron, CEO for VanEck in the Asia-Pacific.

Sydney-based BetaShares and DigitalX, both local players, are reportedly also preparing to debut their Bitcoin ETFs on the ASX. A spokesperson from BetaShares told Bloomberg the company is actively progressing towards launching spot Bitcoin and Ether funds, aiming to introduce them to the market soon.