Bitcoin Reaches All-Time High; Dollar Dives Market Update
AvaTrade | Nov 17, 2017 07:31AM ET
- Momentum in stock markets fade
- Oil marches higher
- Dollar slips further down as Washington comes into focus
European stocks have dwindled after a robust overnight trading session for Asian stocks.
Investors have been mulling over the highs reached by equities in 2017, and whether earnings reports and the promise of fiscal stimulus is enough to keep betting on these risky assets.
In a speech make earlier this morning, Mario Draghi – the leader of the European Central Bank – said he was optimistic about wage growth. The euro strengthened after Draghi’s hawkish sentiment, adding 0.27% against the dollar.
h3 Asian Markets/h3Overnight, the Japanese yen hit the highest point in four weeks, now 0.4% stronger against the dollar.
Meanwhile, Japan’s shares ended marginally higher, equities in Hong Kong rose, while Chinese shares ended lower.
In Australia, the S&P 200 added 0.4%, supported by a rally in financials and media shares.
h3 US Markets/h3Washington passed their tax reform bill on Thursday, investors are dissecting the plan and mulling over whether it will inject the fiscal stimulus previously hoped.
The dollar dwindled further down following reports that Donald Trump’s campaign was issued a subpoena requesting documents related to Russian involvement in the election. The dollar is 0.4% weaker against a basket of currency pairs.
h3 Commodity Markets/h3Gold is 0.4% higher thanks to the weaker dollar and fading momentum in equity markets.
Brent oil, the international benchmark, is 1.3% stronger, after falling 0.8% overnight. Crude oil is 1.6% higher, trading under $57 per barrel.
h3 Cryptocurrency Markets/h3Bitcoin hit a record high, coming in just short of $8000. The cryptocurrency has had a tumultuous week, after falling to close to $5500 last weekend. The rally adds up to a 45% increase over the week.
Last weekend’s dip came after an upgrade for Bitcoin was cancelled. However, a hard fork is on the cards for today, which is the cause for Friday’s rally.
/h3
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