Stocks

Bloomberg Traditional hedge funds, pensions and endowments are boosting cryptocurrency holdings, according to the biggest Bitcoin trust provider. Grayscale Investments, which lets accredited investors own Bitcoin and other coins via its funds, said it took in $608 million last year, surpassing the total amount raised the previous six years. The majority of the inflows — about 71% — came from …

Bloomberg US stocks rose to all-time highs as America and China prepared to sign their initial trade accord. The dollar weakened against most major peers and Treasuries gained. The benchmark S&P 500 set an intraday record for the sixth consecutive trading session, largely ignoring disappointing quarterly results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp. Healthcare and utilities …

Bloomberg The pound slid and gilts rallied after inflation data backed up Bank of England (BOE) policy maker Michael Saunders’ call for urgent stimulus to boost the UK economy. Sterling dipped below $1.30 and 10-year government bond yields dropped to the lowest in seven weeks the data fuelled bets that the central bank will lower interest rates this year. Money …

Bloomberg A handful of Bitcoin exchanges are key to setting prices, allowing traders to largely ignore the myriad of other bourses without the risk of missing major moves, according to a new study. Only 10 markets — among them Binance, Liquid, Huobi, Coinbase and HitBTC — are where most price discovery takes place, and moves that originate there later migrate …

Bloomberg American equity-index futures edged lower along with European stocks as investors awaited the start of US earnings season and officials prepared to sign the China trade deal in Washington. The yuan held close to its strongest level since July. Contracts on Wall Street’s main equity benchmarks traded modestly down, after January14’s jump in technology shares sent the S&P 500 …

Bloomberg The yen weakened past 110 per dollar for the first time in almost eight months as the imminent signing of a US-China trade deal sapped demand for haven assets. Japan’s currency fell as much as 0.2% to 110.21 as the Trump administration removed its designation of China as a currency manipulator before Wednesday’s planned signing of a phase-one agreement. …

Bloomberg US equity futures advanced with Asian shares on Monday while Europe stocks fluctuated as investors showed mild optimism at the start of a busy week set to be dominated by the beginning of earnings season and the signing of a partial China trade deal. Bonds, the yen and gold retreated. Contracts on the S&P 500 signalled a rebound from …

Bloomberg When it comes to Philippine stocks, 2020 so far isn’t looking better than 2019. Barely two weeks into the new year, and the market is the worst performer among major Asian peers, with overseas fund withdrawals reminiscent of January 2008. Back then, fears of a US recession roiled global shares and pummeled Manila into a bear market. Last year, …

Bloomberg The years-long disputes between China and South Korea are getting resolved, and analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc expect Chinese tourists to return en masse to the Korean nation. That’s a boon for shares of cosmetics producers and travel-related companies. Amorepacific Corp, the maker of beauty products that are popular souvenirs among Chinese women, climbed as much as 6.6% on …

Bloomberg Corporate profits likely dropped for a second straight quarter at the end of 2019, dragging down annual earnings growth to the smallest in three years. A lot of investors are fine with that. Put it down to the nature of the stock market, where returns tend to anticipate changes in earnings growth. As the S&P 500 notches records, investors …