Global stocks slow down as BTC, ETH, dollar, and gold cool off

Global stocks cooled off sharply on Monday as investors paused after Friday’s blowout rally and turned their focus to Nvidia’s earnings.

U.S. futures for the Dow dropped by 99 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also edged down 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, ending the brief euphoria from last week.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had exploded by 846.24 points, or 1.89%, to close at 45,631.74. The S&P 500 climbed 1.52% to 6,466.91, coming within three points of a new all-time high.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.88% to finish at 21,496.53, pulled up by tech optimism just days ahead of Nvidia’s numbers.

But crypto wasn’t feeling the love, as Ether tumbled by 5% to $4,588 after hitting a new all-time high of $4,954 just yesterday, following a breakout on Friday that pushed it past its 2021 peak. Bitcoin also lost steam, slipping by over 1% to $111,501.

Over the weekend, the OG crypto hit a low of $110,779.01, its weakest level since July 10, after hitting a new all-time high of $124,496 on August 13.

Both major cryptos were dragged down after traders digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said rate cuts were likely coming. That sent risk-on assets soaring briefly, but also triggered liquidations.

Data from CoinGlass showed more than $245 million in long positions on Ether and $175 million in long Bitcoin bets were wiped out in the past 24 hours.

Asia rallies on tech gains as crypto fades

While crypto corrected, Asian stocks had no interest in slowing down. Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 2.08%, ending the day at 4,469.22. That made it four straight sessions of gains and marked a 37-month high earlier in the day.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.94% to 25,829.91, nearing a four-year peak. Zijin Mining jumped 6.38%, while NetEase advanced 6.04%.

The Hang Seng Tech Index pushed up 3.14% to 5,825.09, with big moves from Nio, up 15.17%, and semiconductor maker ASMPT, up 7.6%. Taiwan’s Taiex also surged, rising 2.16% to 24,277.38.

South Korea’s Kospi added 1.3% to close at 3,209.86. The Kosdaq, its smaller-cap sibling, rose 1.98% to 798.02. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed up 0.41% at 42,807.82, while the Topix nudged higher by 0.15% to end at 3,105.49.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 hit 9,000 for the first time in-session but ended flat at 8,972.40. India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.53%, and the BSE Sensex gained 0.51% by early afternoon local time.

Inflation in Singapore slowed to 0.6% in July, down from 0.8% in June and below the 0.7% economists had forecast, based on a Reuters poll.

Europe slips while metals and currencies struggle

European stocks also took a step back. The Stoxx 600 was last down 0.3%, with most regional markets in the red. Germany’s DAX dropped about 0.5%, and France’s CAC 40 followed with the same loss. U.K. markets were closed on Monday due to a national holiday.

Currency markets showed mixed signals. The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.1701, just under Friday’s high of $1.174225, a level last seen in late July. The British pound and Swiss franc also edged down 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan strengthened to its highest in a month, driven by weakness in the U.S. dollar. The dollar nudged up against the yen to 147.17, after dropping 1% last Friday.

Gold reversed some of its Friday gains. Spot prices fell 0.3% to $3,362.56 an ounce by mid-morning GMT, while U.S. futures for December delivery slid 0.3% to $3,407.30.

The dollar index rose 0.2%, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. Silver lost 0.2% to $38.75. Platinum dropped 0.9% to $1,349.35, and palladium fell 0.7% to $1,118.26.

Yields climbed again. The 10-year U.S. Treasury was up 1 basis point to 4.269% as of 5:56 a.m. ET. The 2-year yield moved higher by over 2 basis points to hit 3.713%.

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