• The US stock market took a downturn today on disappointing labor market data and investors are also expecting Friday’s jobs report to determine the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy.
• European stocks are little changed before the Easter holiday, as traders await US jobs data to assess its impact on the Fed’s monetary policy.
• Cryptocurrency markets have remained steady with Bitcoin trading just above the $28,000 mark and total crypto market capitalization at $1.19 trillion.
US Stock Market Struggling
U.S. stocks took a downward turn earlier today, with investors focusing on disappointing labor market data.They are also anticipating Friday’s jobs report as a potential indicator of the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy pushing the economy toward a recession.The S&P 500 and Nasdaq may break their three-week winning streaks at the end of the holiday-shortened week, however they’re showing signs of slight recovery on the day with both indices gaining 0.25% and 0.55%, respectively.Today’s economic data release pointed to the U.S. labor market grappling with the repercussions of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed intended to temper inflation in an already struggling economy..
European Markets Await US Jobs Data
European stocks are little changed before the Easter holiday as traders await US jobs data to assess its impact on the Fed’s monetary policy .Tom Hanlin, a national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis, has highlighted concerns arising from recent string of weak economic data regarding a potential economic slowdown, further rate hikes by the Fed, and possibility of recession in coming months..
Uncertainty Around Rate Hikes
Financial markets currently reflect a 52% chance of central bank maintaining Fed funds target rate between 4.75%-5% after their next monetary policy meeting in May , according to CME’s FedWatch tool . Investors are divided about likelihood of rate hike in upcoming meeting , some even anticipating rate cuts by year end . This discrepancy between investor expectations and commitment to maintaining high rates as long as necessary is causing volatility in markets..
Crypto Market Remains Steady
Meanwhile , cryptocurrency markets have remained relatively steady with crypto total market capitalization trading at $1.19 trillion currently . Bitcoin is trading just above significant level of $28K at $28179 with loss of 018% so far today ..
Conclusion
Given that volume has been steadily decreasing and Bitcoin has been trading below moving average for past two weeks , it seems likely that Bitcoin will make its next significant move after digesting Labor Department’s March employment report which is scheduled for release tomorrow . Therefore it remains uncertain which direction crypto markets will take post Easter Weekend .