Markets Go Wild: Stocks, Dollar, Bitcoin & Gold React to Rate Cuts
Rate cuts send shockwaves across global markets—traditional and digital assets swing wildly as investors scramble.
Stocks: Mixed Signals
Equity markets can't decide if lower rates mean party time or panic time. Some sectors surge while others bleed red.
Dollar Drama
The greenback takes a hit—cheaper money means weaker currency, but traders aren't betting against it just yet.
Bitcoin's Bold Move
Crypto doesn't wait for permission. Bitcoin surges on rate cut news, proving once again it dances to its own beat—while Wall Street analysts scratch their heads.
Gold's Safe Haven Shine
The old-school hedge plays its part. Gold spikes as uncertainty drives money into shiny, non-digital safety.
Bottom line: When central banks flip the switch, everyone reacts—even the suits who said they wouldn't. Classic finance: predictably unpredictable.
Asian and European traders track U.S. momentum
Early Friday numbers in Europe showed a muted but positive mood. Futures linked to the Stoxx 50, FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 all moved about 0.3% higher.
But investors in the U.K. got slapped with a zero-growth print for July, following 0.4% growth in June. That stagnation puts more pressure on the Bank of England just days ahead of its own monetary policy meeting.
The European Central Bank didn’t change its benchmark rate Thursday, which matched market expectations and kept borrowing costs steady across the eurozone, as Cryptopolitan reported.
In Asia, things leaned bullish. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.64%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged up 0.19%. Two Chinese tech giants made headlines.
Shares of Alibaba and Baidu, both listed in Hong Kong, rallied more than 6% and 10%, after a report from The Information said both companies have started training AI models on their own chips.
Alibaba’s chips have been running smaller models since early this year, and Baidu is using its new Kunlun P800 to power the next version of its Ernie model. Both are slowly cutting out Nvidia.
The momentum stretched across the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 went up 0.58%, setting a new all-time high. The Topix ROSE 0.61%, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.83%, and the Kosdaq added 0.65%. India’s Nifty 50 crept up 0.17%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ticked higher by 0.41%.
Bitcoin struggles, gold climbs, dollar slides
Bitcoin stayed stuck between $110,000 and $116,000 as of Friday morning. The recovery from a dip to $107,000 brought in some buyers, but momentum got choked by short-term holders cashing out and others realizing losses.
The crypto needs to stay above $114,000 to rebuild confidence. If not, it risks falling back toward $93,000, which is the next major cluster of support.
ETF flows slowed to about ±500 BTC per day, a big drop from the peaks in March and December 2024 when traditional finance demand pumped Bitcoin higher. With that drying up, derivatives are now doing most of the work.
Futures volume is steady, and options open interest is rising; signs of a more risk-controlled market. On-chain liquidity, though, is fading.
Gold had no such problem. Spot prices were up 0.5%, trading at $3,651.92 an ounce just after 0600 GMT. That’s within striking distance of Tuesday’s record high of $3,673.95. U.S. futures for December climbed to $3,690.30.
Bullion is now up 1.8% this week and has surged nearly 39% this year. The run has been helped by a soft dollar, global uncertainty, and strong central bank demand.
Other metals followed. Silver added 1.2% to $42.07, platinum rose 1.1% to $1,393.71, and palladium climbed 1% to $1,200.31. All three are heading for weekly gains.
The U.S. dollar slipped again. The dollar index dropped 0.3% to 97.51. The greenback lost ground against several currencies: down 0.3% versus the yen to 147.09, 0.5% against the Swiss franc to 0.7956, and 0.4% lower versus the pound, now at $1.3578.
The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1738, held flat against the pound, and gained 0.2% against the yen to 172.78.
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