Bitcoin and ether fell in Asian trading on Wednesday morning, as did 10 other non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, as investors appeared to take profits after a strong year-to-date rally. Polkadot has the most to lose. U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday as Microsoft cut its profit guidance and released U.S. purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The index, which measures business trends, came in at 46.6. While that beat expectations, a number below 50 suggests the economy is contracting.
Quick Facts
- Bitcoin was down 1.3 percent to $22,688 in 24 hours as of 8:45 a.m. Hong Kong time, but was still up 6.8 percent over the past week. Ether fell 4.6 percent to $1,555, according to CoinMarketCap, down 1.2 percent for the week.
- Polkadot fell 6.7 percent to $6.15, the biggest drop among the top 10. The coin is still up 2.8% for the week.
- Solana fell 5.7 percent to change hands at $22.92, bringing its weekly loss to 0.2 percent. Cardano fell 5.7% to $0.35, but was still up 2.1% for the week.
- The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 2.2 percent to $1.03 trillion in 24 hours, while trading volume fell 6.4 percent to $52.7 billion.
- In U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 0.3%.
- Software giant Microsoft Corp reported better-than-expected earnings for the December quarter, but its shares fell 1.4 percent to $238.75 after the company’s earnings guidance for the next quarter disappointed.
- Composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January, released on Tuesday, showed private sector demand contracting, with firms highlighting sluggish customer demand and inflation sapping customer spending.
- Last month, the Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, in an attempt to slow inflation. Fed members will be in a so-called blackout period before they meet Jan. 31-Feb. 1 to decide on their next move on interest rates. Analysts at CME Group forecast a 99.8% chance of a 25 basis point rise.
Information source: compiled by 0x information from FORKAST.The copyright belongs to the author Lachlan Keller, and shall not be reproduced without permission