Bitcoin price reached $69,191.94, breaking the previous record of $68,991 set in November 2021. (representative)
Gold prices and Bitcoin hit record highs on Tuesday, but stocks were mostly lower as investors awaited fresh signals on the direction of interest rates.
Gold rose to $2,141.79 an ounce shortly after 1330 GMT, surpassing a previous high of $2,135.39 hit in early December before easing slightly.
The two biggest drivers of gold are jewelery and investment purchases, with its value now up around 15% since this time last year.
“Concerns about the global economic outlook, geopolitical tensions and shifting expectations for early interest rate cuts have spurred increased demand for the precious metal, causing its prices to rise,” ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista said.
This week’s strong gains were driven in part by weak data on Friday showing U.S. manufacturing activity contracted faster than analysts expected in February.
That fueled expectations that the Fed could move sooner than expected to lower borrowing costs to stimulate economic activity.
Among digital assets, Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $69,000 as the world’s largest cryptocurrency became easier to trade amid tight supply.
Bitcoin price reached $69,191.94, breaking the previous record of $68,991 set in November 2021.
But Wall Street’s major indexes all opened lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down one percent after closing lower on Monday.
Tesla shares fell 3% and fell further in premarket trading after the company reported disappointing sales in China and vandalism at its factory near Berlin that halted production.
Trade Nation senior market analyst David Morrison said he doesn’t think this week’s pullback represents a dramatic change in direction for a market that has gained nearly 10% since the beginning of the year.
“There has been no major pullback since the rally started in late October, but there have been periodic pauses after sharp moves higher,” he said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will take questions from a House panel on Wednesday, with market participants closely monitoring when the central bank might begin cutting interest rates.
Most analysts expect the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated rate cuts to begin later this year, as officials have expressed caution about cutting rates too early while awaiting further inflation data.
“Markets are pricing in a very low probability of a rate cut from the Fed at its next policy meeting later this month,” said Chris Waterbury, derivatives manager at Charles Schwab.
“If we see this bullish rally continue, U.S. economic announcements later this week should help outline.”
The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates steady at its meeting on Thursday, and the United States will release non-farm payrolls data on Friday.
In Europe, afternoon trading was little changed in Paris, London and Frankfurt.
German chemicals giant Bayer revealed that it will fall into serious losses in 2023 due to issues related to glyphosate herbicide, and its share price fell 6%.
On the eve of a key UK budget update, London received a slight boost from news that network testing company Spirent Communications had agreed to acquire US communications equipment maker Viavi for 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion). Spirent shares rose 62%.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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