Bitcoin and the top 10 others, began the workweek with greens in Monday morning trading in Asia. Investors are increasingly seeking to diversify their portfolios in light of banking turmoil and the Federal Reserve’s recent rate hike. Among the leading cryptocurrencies, Litecoin experienced the largest gains. This morning, U.S. equity futures also saw a rise as authorities aimed to reassure investors about the soundness of the financial system following bank failures and sharp drops in some lender’s stocks.
In the 24-hour period leading up to 9:00 a.m. in Singapore, Bitcoin saw a rise of 1.69% to reach US$28,026. It also saw a weekly gain of 0.37%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin had dipped below the US$28,000 resistance level over the weekend, but bounced back above it early on Monday, though trading later became choppy. As fears of inflation grow, investors are turning to Bitcoin and other similar assets as safe-haven assets.
ETH also saw gains. It rises 1.61% to US$1,780, with a weekly gain of 0.16%, after Ethereum developer Matter Labs launched the mainet of zkSync Era on Friday. It is now the first zero-knowledge scaling system for Ethereum that is available to general users. Litecoin had the largest gains, leading the winners with a 1.85% gain in the past 24 hours to reach US$93.57, and a weekly gain of 12.39%. Meanwhile, the total crypto market capitalization saw a 1.34% rise in the past 24 hours to reach US$1.17 trillion. Total trading volume on the other hand, over the same period, dipped 4.67% to US$31.46 billion.
The US Equity Markets Update
In U.S. equities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite Index all logged gains after a volatile week. However, the concerns about wobbly banks and the Federal Reserve’s recent 25-basis-point rate hike still lingers. Although officials have been reassuring investors about the soundness of the financial system, worries remain. Deutsche Bank’s cost of default insurance also rose on Friday, triggering an 8% sell-off in its stock.
Ahead of the opening of U.S. equity markets on Monday, stock futures rose as of 9:00 a.m. in Singapore. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.36%, S&P 500 futures went up 0.37%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index futures gained 0.24%. In the week ahead, the U.S. Congress will hold a hearing on Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which failed this month, and data releases on U.S. inflation and GDP growth are expected.
Predictions on Federal Reserve’s Interest Rates
On May 3, the Federal Reserve will meet to make its next move on interest rates to tackle inflation. Analysts at the CME Group expect an 83.2% chance that the Fed will keep rates at 4.75% to 5%. However, there is also a chance of another 25 basis-point hikes at 16.8%, down from 34.2% on Friday. The Fed’s current projection for the terminal interest rate in 2023 is 5.1%, the same as the projection in December 2022, indicating that one more rate hike in 2023 could bring the Fed’s tightening cycle to an end.
Personal Note From MEXC Team
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