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Key Takeaways
- Major stock indexes in the US traded under pressure over the week, Nasdaq slipped from record highs
- Cryptocurrencies endured a flash crash on Tuesday, bitcoinâs price stabilized later in the week
Stock Indices Under Pressure, Crypto Crashed, and More
The US stock market went through a week of declines across the board as traders and investors decided to scale down their bargain hunting and take up a more risk-averse approach.
Over the week, the three main US stock gauges mostly fell with real-economy stocks among the least favored by market participants.
After the Labor Day weekend, stocks on Wall Street kicked off the week with a mixed performance on Tuesday. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite sprinted on its fourth straight day of gains as it also set a new all-time high. As the week progressed, the stock benchmark snapped its record-setting streak as big technology companies turned lower for the week.
As Wall Street equities struggled for gains, European bourses also finished the week mixed. The Stoxx 600 index experienced its worst single-day performance on Wednesday as the region-wide benchmark slipped 1.1%. Stock averages for individual economies in Europe also suffered declines.
Bitcoin Is Officially Legal Tender in El Salvador
In the old continent, the European Central Bank decided to downshift the pace of its asset purchases as the economy had advanced but not to the point where the ECB would be entirely satisfied.
ECB President Christine Lagarde announced the central bank will âmoderatelyâ reduce the monthly pace of bond purchases from the current rate of âŹ80bn. The move, Ms. Lagarde stressed, is only a reduction in the pace of purchases under the âŹ1.85tn pandemic program, and not tapering.
Bitcoin started the week on a strong note. On Monday, the original cryptocurrency reached almost a four-month high as it pushed to levels above $52,000 per coin. On Tuesday, the price of bitcoin nosedived 17% to levels near $43,000. Later in the day, bitcoin bulls managed to pare some of the losses and the leading crypto asset closed 10% lower.
Tuesday marked the first day on which El Salvador citizens could officially use bitcoin as their national currency. President Nayib Bukele and the Parliament passed a law 90 days ago which stated bitcoin would become a legal tender starting September 7.
Cryptocurrencies largely stabilized later in the week with leading tokens attempting to recover from the significant crypto flash crash.
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