Bitcoin price in longest rally since Sept, 2021; Shiba Inu rises

Bitcoin price rose for a fifth consecutive day, the longest winning streak since September, as investors re-embrace risk assets across global markets. The largest cryptocurrency by market value gained as much as 3.2% to $43,017. XRP jumped as much as 16% as so-called alt coins rallied more. Shiba Inu led memecoins higher, surging 24%, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Global markets have been whipsawed in recent weeks as investors contemplate the prospects of rapid monetary tightening. After reaching a record high of almost $69,000 in early November, Bitcoin lost as much as 50% of its value in what has been called a “crypto winter.”

“On a fundamental level little has changed for Bitcoin since last Friday, so we could be seeing a short squeeze in the market,” said Nathan Batchelor, lead Bitcoin analyst for SIMETRI Research. “A quick glance at the order book data shows that the market is still positioned short, so a break above the $43,000 level could cause the current up move to target towards the $45,000 level.”

A strengthening relationship between Bitcoin and the stock indices has emerged in recent months, particularly with the technology heavy Nasdaq 100 index. The correlation between the Nasdaq and Bitcoin currently stands at 0.43.

Tech Drags Stocks Lower; Treasury Yields Rise: Markets Wrap

U.S. stocks fell, dragged lower by tech shares, as investors took stock of the outlook for monetary policy ahead of key inflation data later this week. Treasury yields moved higher and a rout in European sovereign bonds deepened.

Bloomberg Business Feb 7, 2022, 22:16

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, dragged lower by tech shares, as investors took stock of the outlook for monetary policy ahead of key inflation data later this week. Treasury yields moved higher and a rout in European sovereign bonds deepened.

The S&P 500 erased earlier gains and the Nasdaq 100 dropped to session lows, amid declines in social media and big tech names including Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. Peloton Interactive Inc. soared after reports that it’s exploring takeover options. The Treasury curve steepened, with 10-year yield up almost 3 basis points, and the dollar was little changed.

Investors are grappling with the prospect of the steepest monetary tightening cycle since the 1990s, with markets pricing in more than five quarter-point Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes in 2022 following a strong U.S. jobs report. The U.S. inflation report this week could lead to more market volatility. A reading north of 7%, the highest since the early 1980s, is expected.

“Inflation remains the key variable that will determine whether stocks can extend this rebound or we see a drop back towards the January lows,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter. “If inflation remains hot, it’ll skew hawkish risks for the Fed, weigh on growth and pressure earnings. If inflation peaks and recedes, it’ll keep the Fed on the current track (four hikes and gradual balance sheet reduction), the recovery will stay strong, and earnings shouldn’t drop.”

The Fed is in a difficult spot, “trying to manage the real economy where we see that hot inflation and the financial economy, which quivers every time we talk about rate rises,” Karen Harris, Bain & Co. global head of macro research, said on Bloomberg Television.

Greek debt led a selloff in European peripheral bonds after European Central Bank Governing Council Member Klaas Knot said he expects a rate increase as early as in the fourth quarter. The ECB last week made a hawkish pivot, with President Christine Lagarde no longer excluding a rate hike this year.

U.S. stocks ended higher last week, but trading was volatile amid weak numbers at U.S. tech giants including Facebook-owner Meta Platforms and positive earnings from Amazon.com Inc. A strong jobs report while good for the economy also backed the case for a hawkish Fed stance.

“The market is in transition,” Chuck Cumello, president and chief executive officer of Essex Financial Services, said by phone. “You’re going from an accommodative Fed to one that’s going to tighten, you’re going from a scenario last year where the federal government was literally putting money in people’s pockets to spend and that’s not happening, and you have these big geopolitical events. It’s a very challenging environment for high P/E stocks.”