Stocks in the US marked a surge on Friday, rebounding from the eight-day winning streak that was snapped during the previous session. Investors seem to be brushing off hawkish remarks made by the Fed Chief, Jerome Powell, who issued a warning that policy tightening may still be implemented.
Powell cautioned that further tightening is still on the table and that the central bank may not yet be convinced that it has done enough to declare its mission accomplished. He stated that the Fed would not hesitate to tighten policies further if deemed necessary, emphasizing that the central bank must not be swayed by recent promising inflation readings.
On the other hand, the cryptocurrency markets continued to rise on Friday, with strong gains seen in the price of bitcoin. Both Ether and bitcoin have experienced double-digit rallies this week, driven by excitement around the potential approval of spot ETFs and other supply dynamics.
BlackRock, a major asset management company, has submitted an application for a spot ether ETF, which adds to the anticipation for the potential approval of a bitcoin ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Diogo Mónica, co-founder of crypto firm Anchorage Digital, highlighted the significance of these developments, stating that the potential approval of a spot Ethereum ETF would be a key next step after a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The surge in stocks was reflected in the US indexes, with the S&P 500 rising by 0.27%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing 0.25% (+82.56 points), and the Nasdaq Composite climbing by 0.42%. Meanwhile, other news impacting the financial market included the 30-year Treasury yield rebounding amid sagging demand, Ether spiking to its highest level in six months, and warnings of a potential stock slump and recession due to rising gas prices.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto, oil prices climbed, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude moving higher, while gold edged lower and the 10-year yield moved lower. Bitcoin also saw an increase, climbing by 1.80% to $37,016.
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