Markets: Bitcoin edges up; U.S. stocks, bonds post worst returns in 5 decades

Lachlan Keller

2 years ago

Bitcoin and Ether made up some ground, with most other tokens in the crypto top 10 little changed in early Thursday morning trading in Asia. Bitcoin traded back above US$20,000 after falling through that resistance level overnight. Global macroeconomic headwinds continue to drag on both crypto and capital markets.

Fast facts

Bitcoin rose 1.3% in the past 24 hours to US$20,044 at 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether gained 1.9% to US$1,552, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Most 0ther tokens in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 by market capitalization were little changed, with XRP up 0.3% to US$0.32. Cardano lost most ground on the list, falling 1.2% to change hands at US$0.44.
The total crypto market cap has fallen 55% since the beginning of this year, and has recently struggled to remain above US$1 trillion. It was sitting at US$975 billion just before business hours in Hong Kong.
U.S. equities continued their downward run from last Friday when the Federal Reserve indicated its aggressive strategy of raising interest rates would continue until inflation hits a target rate of roughly 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index both closed down about 0.8% on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index finished the day off 0.6%.
So far, this year has been the worst in at least 50 years for stock and bond-market returns, according to analysts at Bespoke Investment Group. For the year, the Dow Jones is down 13.9%, the S&P 500 has fallen 17.5% and the Nasdaq has lost 25.4%
Investors continue to be wary of China’s poor economic performance amid news millions of its residents have been placed back under strict lockdowns in cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dalian, Chengdu and Shijiazhuang as part of the government’s zero-Covid policy.