Bitcoin Price Gains Traction as Wall Street Stocks Drift Lower
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Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin gathers steam as price jumps about 5% on Tuesday to top $58,000
- Wall Street stocks struggle for direction after Jerome Powell nomination
Whatâs on Focus in the Markets?
Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market pushed higher on Tuesday after several days of a downbeat mood. The gloomy trading, however, shifted to largely positive yesterday as bitcoinâs price gained 5% and crossed $58,000 per coin.
Moreover, the second-largest coin, Ether, rallied 8% as crypto traders lifted the tokenâs price to levels near $4,400. A few days earlier, the Ethereum networkâs native token slipped to a three-week low of $3,950.
This said the move to the upside on Tuesday was broad-based. In more detail, the entire cryptocurrency market got a boost of about $100 billion as total value climbed to $2.6 trillion.
Still, major coins remain about 10% or more from their all-time highs set earlier this month. Bitcoin, for example, floats about 16% from its record high of $69,000. Ether, on the other hand, is currently trading roughly 11% away from its peak of $4,860 set Nov. 10.
Despite the recent slide, crypto traders are confident the rally will continue. To this end, they use the current discounted levels to buy the dip and get exposure to their favorite coins.
Where Are Stocks Headed?
Meanwhile, stocks on Wall Street finished Tuesdayâs session mixed. More precisely, the Nasdaq Composite slipped more than half a percent. In addition, the S&P500 hugged the flatline while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over half a percent.
Stocks have been seeking direction this week after President Joe Biden gave another four-year term to Jerome Powell as Fed chief. In other words, Mr. Powell will continue his approach to monetary policy.
His main priorities now include reducing the $120 billion in monthly stimulus by $15 billion a month. Also, Fed officials have agreed to start raising interest rates sometime in mid-2022.
Against this backdrop, investors seem wary of betting aggressively on risky assets. Further, increased inflation pressures and labor-market uncertainty weigh on the fourth-quarter outlook.
Early on Wednesday, stock futures hover flat as traders prepare to enter the last full trading day of the week.
Whatâs Next for Traders and Investors?
Tomorrow, market participants in the US will take the day off to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. On that note, there will be no stock trading as major exchanges will be closed. Friday, on the other hand, will only offer trading during the first half of the session, until 1 pm.
Before that, however, traders and investors will see todayâs report on initial jobless claims. In addition, the Federal Reserve will release its minutes from its last meeting.
Whatâs New Around the Markets?
Oil prices rallied Tuesday to hit a one-week high after the US said it will release 50 million barrels in efforts to cool rising energy prices. As it appeared, the announcement had the opposite effect as many analysts expected to see oil prices dip. Instead, Brent oil and WTI oil rose 5% each.
Todayâs Economic Calendar (EST times)
- 08:30 am, USD, GDP (QoQ) (Q3) Preliminary
- 08:30 am, USD, Initial Jobless Claims
- 02:00 pm, USD, FOMC Meeting Minutes
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