Summary
- Market roundup for Thursday shows a cautious tone returning amid fresh inflation data and geopolitical developments.
- The sour sentiment dragged Bitcoin from its ATH, weighed on Gold, but helped U.S. Dollar to trim weekly losses.
- Hot U.S. PPI renewed inflation woes, while fears of Russia’s likely dissent to ceasefire with Ukraine grew.
- U.S. Consumer-Centric data, risk news and speculations before next week’s Jackson Hole will entertain momentum traders.
Market Roundup for Thursday: Sentiment Worsens on Inflation, Political Fears
The risk complex remains downbeat early Thursday morning in New York as fresh U.S. macro data joined concerns over the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) independence to challenge the early-week optimism.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 2.0% at $121 level, after refreshing the all-time high above $124K, while Gold (XAU) snapped a two-day winning streak with mild losses near $3,335, as the early-week market optimism faded out. This helped the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) to recover from a two-week low and post the first daily gain in three, with modest upside near 98.20 at the press time.
Talking about the data, the U.S. Initial Jobless Claims eased to 224K for the latest week, down from 228K market forecasts and 227K prior (revised), suggesting resilience in the employment conditions.
Meanwhile, Producer Price Index (PPI) for July offered a strong hit by rising 0.9% month-over-month (MoM) and 3.3% year-over-year (YoY), versus market expectations of 0.2% MoM and 2.5% YoY, and previous readings of 0.0% MoM and 2.4% YoY.
Further, the Core PPI (PPI excluding Food & Energy) also jumped 0.9% MoM versus 0.2% expected and 0.0% prior, while the YoY figure reached 3.7%, much higher than the 2.9% forecast and 2.6% prior release. These factory-gate price figures highlighted stronger-than-expected inflationary pressures and challenged the rate cut bias.
Following the data, previous concerns surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed) three rate cuts in the remaining 2025 were questioned, allowing the U.S. Dollar to pare previous losses and weigh on the riskier assets. It’s worth noting that some of the Fed officials, like Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, defended the Federal Reserve’s independence and raised doubts about the preset course for further rate cuts in their latest public appearances.
Elsewhere, US Treasury Secretary Bassent spoke on Fox News that he doesn’t know if Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to a ceasefire.
U.S. President Donald Trump also marked uncertainty about the issue when he conveyed his phone call details with the European Union (EU) leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Axios, Trump indicated the possibility of Ukraine ceding some territory to Russia as part of a peace deal, while also warning Moscow of consequences if it refuses to cooperate, both of which contribute to the market’s uncertainty. That said, Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week and said, “Going to meet with Putin, then will call Zelenskyy and European leaders.”
Crypto, Equity News
In the crypto space, both Bitcoin (BTC) and Binance Coin (BNB) hit fresh record highs, Ethereum (ETH) renewed its four-year top, and Ripple (XRP) jumped to a weekly high, all before easing on broader market consolidation.
Meanwhile, the Open Interest (OI) across major altcoins surged to a record $47B, according to Glassnode. This suggests high liquidity conditions, but also hints at a fragile market structure and growing concerns about the overbought conditions.
Among the key news, Dunamu, the parent company of South Korea’s largest exchange Upbit, gained major attention. That said, Dunamu launched a new institutional custody service and partnered with MB Bank to build Vietnam’s first regulated crypto exchange.
Also read: Upbit Expands with Institutional Custody and Vietnam’s First Regulated Exchange
Elsewhere, Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun filed a lawsuit to block the global news and data provider Bloomberg from disclosing his private crypto holdings. The crypto magnet alleged Bloomberg breached confidentiality. Sun also cited risks of hacking, theft, and physical threats due to such data release. The Bloomberg, on the other hand, argued that the lawsuit contravenes press freedom.
For More: Tron Founder Justin Sun Sues Bloomberg Over Shocking Crypto Holdings Leak
Further, a Nasdaq-listed public company, ALT5 Sigma Corporation (ALTS), announced a $1.5 billion worth of transaction with the World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump. With this, Eric and other WLFI executives will join ALT5’s board to lead their digital asset strategy.
Read Details: ALT5 Sigma Announces $1.5B Offering to Build Eric Trump-Backed WLFI Treasury, ALT5 Soars by 16%
Wall Street benchmarks cheered the second positive day on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing at record highs, while the Dow Jones gained over 1%. All three major indexes started Thursday on a cautious note, posting modest losses at press time, amid the latest inflation and political jitters.
While optimism surrounding the lower Fed rates and hopes of Russia-Ukraine peace underpinned the performance of equities, Cisco Systems’ better-than-expected results also helped U.S. stock buyers. In doing so, the equity traders largely ignored the Earnings Per Share (EPS) miss from Circle Internet Group, Inc.
Also read: Market Digest: Bitcoin Surges to 122K as Rate Cut Bets, Trade Truce Fuel Global Rally
- Gold snaps two-day winning streak, down 0.50% intraday to $3,337 by the press time.
- Bitcoin (BTC) reverses from the all-time high, down nearly 2.0% to $121K at the latest.
- Ethereum (ETH) drops over 3.0%, stalling its two-day winning streak while falling to $4,590.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rebounds from a two-week low, up 0.40% intraday to 98.20 at the press time.
- Wall Street Benchmarks Retreat: Having refreshed record highs the previous day, Wall Street benchmarks trade with mild losses during the initial hours, following a slightly upbeat performance of stocks in Asia and Europe.
- WTI Crude Oil bounces off 10-week low, up 1.30% intraday to $63.60 as we write.
More U.S. data, risk news eyed…
Looking forward, Thursday’s market moves include speeches from several Fed officials and the after-market results from Alibaba Group Holdings LTD., as well as the key risk catalysts. On Friday, the U.S. Retail Sales for July and preliminary readings of the University of Michigan’s (UoM) Consumer Sentiment and Inflation Expectations for August will be the key to watch. Also important will be the market’s preparations for next week’s annual Jackson Hole Symposium event for the global central bankers.
That said, the latest shift in the market’s sentiment could gain momentum if the incoming U.S. consumer-centric data appear firmer and the Fed officials reiterate data-dependency, like Chairman Powell. This could join the growing uncertainty about the Russia-Ukraine peace deal to underpin the U.S. Dollar’s strength, which can allow cryptocurrencies to consolidate weekly gains and exert downside pressure on Gold and equities.
