Asian Stocks Gain, Bitcoin Hits Record High Ahead Of US Inauguration
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks rose Monday morning and bitcoin hit new highs ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
US markets will be closed for a holiday on Monday.
According to CoinDesk, the price of bitcoin rose to $109,134 early Monday, up from $99,563. Cryptocurrencies have gained significantly since Trump was elected as an investor Bet in his favor for such properties.
European benchmarks gained in early trading, with Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 8,515.80 and the CAC 40 in Paris up 0.2% at 7,729.06. Germany’s DAX was little changed at 20,902.00.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.8% to 19,925.81 after China’s central bank left its key lending rate unchanged. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3,244.38.
A Hong Kong court has extended a deadline for troubled property developer Land Paradise to reach an agreement with creditors until next month, in the latest slow move to help China’s real estate sector recover from a long slump.
The mood also helped Good comments Before Trump, the US and Chinese authorities Graduation Later on Monday. A pledge by both sides to work to improve ties may have eased some concerns over trade tensions over China’s increased tariffs on U.S. goods.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2% to 38,902.50. The dollar slipped against the Japanese yen at 156.17 yen, compared with 156.31 yen. Expectations are building that the Bank of Japan could raise key interest rates at its monetary policy meeting later this week. Higher rates boost the yen’s value against the dollar.
The euro rose to $1.0309 from $1.0281.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1% to 2,520.05. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,347.40.
Taiwan’s Tykes rose 0.5% and India’s Sensex rose 0.7%. Bangkok SET gained 0.1%.
In other matters early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude fell 19 cents to $77.20 a barrel and Brent crude added 23 cents to $80.56 a barrel.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1% and the Dow rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.
The oilfield services provider helped SLB lead the market after delivering bigger profits and revenue for the end of 2024 than analysts had expected. After raising its dividend by 3.6 percent, it jumped 6.1 percent and is returning $2.3 billion to investors by buying back its own stock.
