· Asia shares wary on U.S. inflation, Bitcoin struggles to steady
Asian shares were mixed on Monday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy, while Bitcoin tried to steady after being hammered on news of China’s clampdown on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1% in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2% and Chinese blue chips 0.2%.
Nasdaq futures rose 0.1% and S&P 500 futures firmed 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures added 0.2%.
The crowded trade in Bitcoin left it vulnerable to a selloff as investors rushed to the exits en masse, seeing it down 50% from its all-time high. The cryptocurrency shed 13% on Sunday alone, but was last trading up 1.9% at $35,350.
It was hurt in part by China’s crackdown on mining and trading of the largest cryptocurrency as part of ongoing efforts to prevent speculative and financial risks.
· Japanese shares end higher on global economic growth hopes
Japanese shares ended higher on Monday, led by stocks sensitive to global economic growth, as investors cheered upbeat U.S. factory activity data that helped the Dow index end higher in its previous session.
The Nikkei share average edged up 0.17% to close at 28,364.61, while the broader Topix rose 0.44% to 1,913.04.
· European markets make cautious start to the week; investors watch bitcoin after sell-off
European stocks were muted at the start of the trading week as investors continued to focus on inflation concerns and bitcoin’s moves lower.
It looks set to be a quieter trading day in Europe with markets closed in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Austria for the Whit Monday public holiday. Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 both moved around 0.3% higher in early trade.
Other events in focus on Monday include the EU’s special meeting of the European Council at which Covid-19, the environment and EU-U.K. relations are set to be discussed.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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