Bloomberg Cryptocurrencies briefly jumped amid chaotic trading in Asia after China’s stock markets reopened to steep losses following an extended holiday shutdown. Bitcoin surged to $9,608, the highest since October, shortly after markets opened at 9:30 am in Hong Kong, before giving back most of those gains less than half an hour later. The wider Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index tracking …

Bloomberg China’s central bank took its first concrete steps to cushion the economy and plunging markets from the blow of a spreading new virus, providing short-term funding to banks and cutting the interest rate it charges for the money. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) added a net 150 billion yuan ($21.4 billion) of funds on Monday using 7-day and …

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank is taking “bold” steps to guard the nation’s currency and bonds as mounting concerns about the economic impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic trigger a selloff by foreign investors. Bank Indonesia is intervening in the bond, currency and non-deliverable forwards markets to protect the rupiah, Nanang Hendarsah, the central bank’s executive director for monetary management, said …