Bitcoin oscillates around $90,000 on Thursday, crossed for the very first time overnight, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange rebounds, helped by the weakening of the yen against the dollar.
Bitcoin shines
The largest cryptocurrency by capitalization was trading at $90,184 around 02:30 GMT. It had crossed the historic mark of $90,000 on Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. GMT before exceeding $93,000 shortly after. Since Donald Trump's victory on November 5 in the US presidential election, the value of bitcoin has increased by more than 30% and gone from record to record.
The president-elect, who takes office in January, has promised to make the United States “the world capital of cryptocurrencies” by drastically relaxing the regulatory environment and discussed the establishment of a strategic national bitcoin reserve. Initiatives designed to boost demand while the global supply of bitcoins is limited, which could push prices even higher.
The dollar continues to soar
The dollar continued its surge on Thursday in Asian trade, still boosted by the prospect of inflationary policies during Donald Trump's second term – customs duties, tax cuts and increase in the budget deficit. The latter are likely to keep rates high in the United States, which reinforces the attractiveness of the greenback.
Around 02:00 GMT, the US currency climbed to 155.91 yen per dollar – the highest since July 24. It appreciated against the common European currency, to 1.0554 dollars per euro, to levels not seen for more than a year. “Asian currencies are expected to continue to weaken, particularly with US tariffs likely to be strengthened”which will affect economies in the region and could lead central banks in Asia to respond by lowering their rates, adds Lloyd Chan of MUFG bank.
Furthermore, the yen is particularly suffering from the growing gap between Japanese bond yields and those of the United States, which are rising due to the prospect of an increase in American debt.
Cautious rebound on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Around 02:30 GMT on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the flagship Nikkei index climbed 0.10% to 38,761.02 points and the broader Topix index rose 0.46% to 2,720.93 points. “The weakened yen should support the actions of exporting groups”which see their sales favored by the exchange rate, underlined analysts at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence.
Furthermore, as the season of financial results for Japanese companies comes to an end, “despite a notable slowdown in the auto sector, upward revisions to earnings forecasts dominate the overall picture”enough to feed “speculative purchases”they emphasize.
Chinese markets under pressure
Around 02:30 GMT in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.64% to 19,696.78 points. The Shanghai composite index lost 0.26% to 3,430.55 points, that of Shenzhen 0.91% to 2,100.46 points.
Chinese markets remain clouded by the prospect of intensifying Sino-American trade tensions. After the announcement of recovery measures deemed insufficient, “investors are now waiting for important economic indicators in China and the publication of results from technology groups”including Tencent and Alibaba on Friday, observe analysts at Hang Seng Bank.
Stock markets in Seoul and Taiwan are also under pressure, having fallen more than 2% on Wednesday, driven by the plunge in technology stocks – a sector likely to suffer from a trade war. The South Korean giant Samsung Electronics caught its breath on Thursday (+1.38%) after collapsing by some 2.5% during the session the day before, to the lowest level in four years.
Oil downturn
Oil prices were in a slight decline, in a market penalized by the strengthened dollar – which makes purchases of crude denominated in the American currency less attractive -, while concerns about demand persist. Around 02:30 GMT, a barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell 0.19%, to $72.14, and its American equivalent West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 0.28%, to $68.24.
