Australian shares are set to play catch up this morning and start the new trading week in strong fashion. Futures gained ground heading into the weekend as the US market finished the week on a high note, with each of the major indexes ending sharply higher as retreating oil prices put downward pressure on inflation, and traders scaled back interest rate expectations.

Economic Calendar and News

A quiet week for the local economic calendar means that investors will be digesting the latest data out of the US for a better indicator on the state of the economy. House price data, courtesy of CoreLogic, might be the exception to this, as capital cities across the nation are tipped to show the first real signs of falling property prices.In the US, normally the Case“Shiller Home Price Index would be an overshadowed piece of data, however, with the Federal Reserve implementing a series of rate hikes, it will uncharacteristically be in focus this week. Investors will be looking for clues on whether house prices have taken a hit since the US central bank began lifting rates, which could in turn flow through to major lenders.The Purchasing Managers' Index will give an indicator on how inflation is tracking, but the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index will be viewed as more crucial. As a barometer for inflation, economists will be looking for improvement on this front, otherwise it will only encourage the Fed to pursue an aggressive rate hike cycle, including the prospect of another 75 basis point hike.Elsewhere, durable goods orders will shed light on the state of the manufacturing and industrial sectors of the US economy, and a final reading on Q1 GDP is expected to confirm the US economy contracted earlier this year. Keep an eye out for other crucial data covering corporate profits, mortgage applications, manufacturing activity, and a speech by Jerome Powell at the ECB Forum on Central Banking 2022.Further abroad, Eurozone inflation data is expected to reach 8.3% later in the week.

Stocks on watch

As the US market rounds out its worst first-half performance in decades, volatility could be higher than normal as investors rebalance their portfolios. The final week of June is also one of the traditional opportunities that companies sometimes take to provide an updated earnings guidance ahead of the upcoming reporting season, which starts from the middle of July.

Nike (NYSE: NKE) is one of this week high profile names on watch as it prepares to hand down fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Monday, US-time. The last time the athletic apparel brand reported earnings, its meagre revenue growth of just 5% underwhelmed investors, particularly with growth in China reversing course. Investors will be looking at how the brand managed to perform over recent months, and more importantly, the company sales outlook in light of lockdowns in China being lifted. Nike has also had to deal with increasing competition, and inventory management concerns, both of which should become clearer this week.Semiconductor firm Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is also set to report earnings this week, with the company fiscal third-quarter performance under review. When it last reported earnings in March, the United States' largest memory chip manufacturer provided a strong earnings outlook, citing robust demand for its products from data centres.Other tech stocks like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta (NASDAQ: META), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) enjoyed one of their strongest trading sessions in weeks, spurring a rally of more than 3% in the Nasdaq, and providing a tailwind for ASX tech stocks this morning.Nearmap (ASX: NEA) and Megaport (ASX: MP1) were two of the biggest beneficiaries of improving sentiment in the local tech sector last week, while the likes of WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), Altium (ASX: ALU), Appen (ASX: APX), and Xero (ASX: XRO) also stand to gain from a broader appetite for risk-off stocks.That also extends to battery metals stocks, with Vulcan Energy Resources' (ASX: VUL) major coup in securing Stellantis as a major shareholder bringing a vote of confidence back to the sector. That led to buying activity flowing through to Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS), and Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) following a brutal sell-off.Heavyweight financial Suncorp (ASX: SUN) is in the spotlight after news emerged over the weekend that it is looking at splitting its banking and insurance divisions, with the former emerging as a potential trade sale candidate, or even an IPO spin-off. Suncorp banking division recently brought in about $400 million in cash profits, with a market share of about 2% in the commercial banking sector. Its home loan portfolio is overwhelmingly skewed towards Queensland, and to a lesser extent, New South Wales.It comes at a time when banks have been out of favour, with the likes of Westpac (ASX: WBC) and ANZ (ASX: ANZ) leading the sell-off across the sector. However, both banks grinded out gains last week, and with positive banking sentiment in the US on Friday, they could start the week on the front foot.Qantas (ASX: QAN), near its lowest level since August last year, may also draw some headlines as the airline made history offering a direct connection between Australia and Europe. The travel sector is currently in the midst of a frenetic period where staff shortages have prompted endless cancellations and delays. Last month the national carrier cancelled 1 in every 13 flights, and it has since responded by announcing plans to ramp up its standby staff, while also proposing bonuses for staff, albeit in lieu of pay rises.