Global markets are trying to shake off last week’s metals’ sharp fall, with gold bouncing, oil drifting lower on easing U.S.–Iran tensions, and equities going higher, even as politics in Japan, Ukraine, the U.S., and India keep investors on edge.
Crypto
Total crypto market capitalization has recovered to about $2.65 trillion, but the backdrop is still fragile: the Fear & Greed Index sits at 17, showing “extreme fear,” while the Altcoin Season Index is at 30/100 and the Average Crypto RSI Index is near 44, pointing to an oversold market that still favors Bitcoin over smaller tokens.
Bitcoin trades around $78,000, up roughly 2% on the day after the weekend sell-off but still well below recent highs. Ethereum hovers near $2,280 with a modest bid, and Solana trades just above $103, also edging higher.
Spot bitcoin ETFs absorbed much of the volatility, with data for the 2nd of February showing net inflows of about $562 million, led by roughly $142 million into BlackRock’s IBIT and over $150 million into Fidelity’s FBTC, alongside solid contributions from ARKB and BITB.
Commodities
Gold has witnessed a sharp rebound, trading around $4,800–$4,900 an ounce, up 3–6% on the day, and climbing back up on expectations that incoming Fed chair Kevin Warsh will pursue faster balance-sheet reduction.
Brent crude, by contrast, is silent around $66 a barrel, extending a two-day pullback as talk of de-escalation between Washington and Tehran draws back the geopolitical tensions.
Stock Market Indices
In the U.S., the S&P 500 is trading around 6,976.45 (+0.54%), the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 49,407.66 (+1.05%) and the Nasdaq Composite near 23,592.11 (+0.56%), pointing to a steady push for risk. In Europe, the Euro STOXX 50 is up close to 0.9% at about 6,061.01, while the FTSE 100 edges higher to roughly 10,337.30 (+0.03%). In Japan, Nikkei 225 futures trade around 54,510 (-0.20%), hinting at a phase of consolidation.
Geopolitics & Market Sentiment
On the diplomatic front, the U.S.–India tariff deal, which cuts duties on Indian goods to 18% and pushes New Delhi away from Russian oil, has eased one source of global trade friction and boosted Indian assets. At the same time, Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister and LDP leader, said recent remarks about the benefits of a weaker yen underline how sensitive FX policy has become in Tokyo ahead of Sunday’s vote.
In Ukraine, renewed Russian attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv reinforce the sense that the war remains a live risk, particularly for European energy.
On the economic side, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s move to lift rates to 3.85% shows that inflation in some developed economies is still too high. At the same time, markets expect a Warsh-led Fed to cut rates eventually but shrink its balance sheet more quickly.
Meanwhile, U.S. 10-year yields hover around 4.3%, and a firmer dollar points to tighter liquidity and a more cautious appetite for risk going into early February.
