Aurelia Butler

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    in Economy

    Nasdaq, S&P 500 set to slip at open after hitting record highs

    (Reuters) -The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to open lower on Friday after strong gains in the previous session, as investors cheered the Federal Reserve sticking to its rate-easing stance and awaited commentary from Chair Jerome Powell later in the day.All three main U.S. indexes hit fresh record closing highs on Thursday as chip stocks rallied after Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)’s upbeat forecast and the Fed signaled it was still on track for three interest-rate cuts this year. Traders now see a 70% chance of the first rate cut hitting in June, from 56% at the start of this week, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool.”With summer rate cuts now becoming somewhat more certain and a further recovery in bond yields looking unlikely, policymakers have provided fresh impetus to the bull market,” said Raffi Boyadjian, lead investment analyst at XM.Investors will also be closely monitoring commentary from a host of other central bankers expected later in the day for further cues on the central bank’s monetary policy trajectory.The blue-chip Dow ended Thursday less than 1% away from the 40,000-mark for the first time. Along with the benchmark S&P 500, the Dow was on track to its best weekly performance so far this year. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to notch its best week since mid-January.At 08:21 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 5.25 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 48.25 points, or 0.26%.Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks eased in premarket trading.Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) led losses, down 4.0%, following a report that the EV maker has reduced car production at its plant in China.Nevertheless, the EV maker and many of the other market leaders were set for strong weekly gains. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has gained nearly 3% so far this week. Nike (NYSE:NKE) shed 6.2% after the world’s largest sportswear maker warned that its revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025 would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage, as it scales back on franchises to save costs. Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) forecast annual revenue and profit below expectations as demand wanes for the apparel retailer’s premium athleisure, mainly in North America, sending its shares tumbling 13.2%.Social media platform Reddit lost 2.3% a day after its strong market debut.FedEx (NYSE:FDX) jumped 11.5% after the company beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and operating margin in the parcel delivery firm’s largest unit, Express, rose 2.5% in the February fiscal quarter from 1.2% a year ago.While most S&P 500 companies will not report on the current quarter until after mid-April, investors are likely to pay close attention to earnings that come earlier for clues on how the rest of the season will go. More

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    in Economy

    Canada’s January retail sales decline but slight rebound seen in February

    OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s retail sales contracted a little less than expected in January as lower goods prices and lower sales of motor vehicle and parts weighed down on the number, data showed on Friday.Retail sales dropped by 0.3% in January from a healthy 0.9% jump in December which was led by holiday season sales, Statistics Canada said. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.4% drop in retail sales.A preliminary estimate of February’s sales figure showed that the sales were likely to increase by 0.1%, but this data is sourced only from half of the total respondents the Statscan usually surveys, it said.In volume terms, however, sales were up 0.2% in January. More

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    in Economy

    Russian central bank keeps rates at 16%, says policy will stay tight

    MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s central bank held its key interest rate at 16% on Friday, warning that inflationary pressure remained high and that tight monetary conditions would be maintained for a long time to try to return inflation to the bank’s 4% target.The bank’s tightening cycle may be over, but it has not yet found room to ease borrowing costs, hampered by strong consumer demand and the inflationary impact of widespread labour shortages. “Domestic demand is still outstripping capabilities to expand the production of goods and services,” the bank said in a statement. “Labour market tightness has increased again. For the moment, it is premature to judge the pace of future disinflationary trends.”The tone of the press release is “tight”, said Yevgeny Kogan, a professor at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, interpreting the statement as a sign that rates will also be kept unchanged at the bank’s next meeting on April 26. Governor Elvira Nabiullina said a rate cut was more possible in the second half of the year. She said there had been broad consensus for the rate hold, with discussions focusing on the possible rate trajectory and the signal the bank should give. Inflation, the bank’s main area of concern, stood at 7.4% in 2023, compared with 11.9% in 2022. Economists expect it to remain well above the central bank’s 4% target this year.The central bank had raised rates by 850 basis points in the second half of 2023, including an unscheduled emergency hike in August as the rouble tumbled past 100 to the dollar and the Kremlin called for tighter monetary policy.But it has lately signalled a more dovish approach. Friday’s decision was in line with a Reuters poll of analysts, most of whom expect the bank to start easing monetary policy in June. “The central bank is clearly hoping that underlying price pressures continue to soften in the coming months, which we think could open up the door for easing in Q3,” said Liam Peach, Senior Emerging Markets Economist, Capital Economics.Years of high inflation have eroded Russians’ living standards, and keeping a lid on price rises is a major economic challenge for President Vladimir Putin as he embarks on a new six-year term in office following last week’s election. Russia’s economy rebounded sharply last year from a slump in 2022, but the growth relies heavily on state-funded arms and ammunition production and masks other problems.”The personnel shortage remains a serious limitation for further production growth,” Nabiullina said. The central bank forecasts GDP growth of 1.0-2.0% this year. The International Monetary Fund expects Russia’s economy to grow 2.6% this year, but anticipates tough times ahead. In the first half of 2023, the central bank had cut rates as low as 7.5%, gradually reversing an emergency hike to 20% implemented in February 2022 after Moscow sent its army into Ukraine, triggering sweeping Western sanctions. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Consensys Completes Strategic Investment in Web3 Infrastructure Provider Entangle

    Web3 infrastructure provider Entangle has announced that it has received strategic investment from Consensys. The funding provided by the blockchain incubator takes the total funding received by Entangle to $4M.In January, Entangle revealed that it had closed a private round that attracted leading VCs such as Big Brain Holdings, Launch Code Capital, Seier Capital, and Skynet Capital. The follow-on investment from Consensys will support Entangle’s goal of building out its interoperable omnichain messaging and liquidity infrastructure.Consensys’ investment in Entangle forms part of its Linea Ecosystem Alliance, an initiative that has received the backing of VCs such as Amber, Animoca Brands, Blocktower, Electric Capital, ParaFi, and Lemniscap.Linea is one of several projects Entangle is currently working with, where it is supporting the integration of products such as Photon Messaging, Universal Data Feeds, and Liquid Vaults. Entangle’s flagship product, Liquid Vaults will be integrated into key protocols on Linea, enabling DEXes to share liquidity and users to enjoy superior pricing.The Entangle mainnet is on course to launch in April. A large and engaged community has coalesced around the infrastructure project, resulting in the Entangle testnet attracting 250,000 users. The community has completed 1.5M testnet transactions, allowing developers to assess the network’s performance ahead of mainnet deployment.Entangle will support a host of interoperable applications that can draw liquidity and data from multiple chains. A proprietary messaging protocol has been built that allows data and assets to effortlessly move between chains. Photon enables EVM and non-EVM chains to communicate, powering use cases such as omnichain assets and trustless bridges.Following the launch of the Entangle mainnet, high-frequency data feeds will serve dapps operating across DeFi, DePIN, GameFi, and RWAs. Web2 and web2 data can be served on any blockchain, while smart contracts can communicate between networks. Entangle will also support Liquid Vaults, improving capital efficiency and enabling novel DeFi strategies through the creation of Composable Derivatives Tokens. After auto-staking LP tokens, users receive a 1:1 backed CDT, reflecting the staked value of the underlying LP. Over 75 integrations and partnerships have been announced to date and more than 42 dapps integrated with Entangle’s ecosystem, which connects to 16 blockchains. As a result, Entangle is primely positioned to deliver on its promise of supplying omnichain data that crosses ecosystems, industries, and networks. On March 13, Entangle’s $NGL token launched with simultaneous listings on Bybit, KuCoin, Gate, and MEXC. In its first 24 hours of trading, $NGL recorded $57M volume and demand has remained strong in the days since.About EntangleEntangle is the first customizable messaging Infrastructure designed to unify web3 and optimize ecosystem liquidity. Entangle provides builders and dapps with authenticated, customizable and interoperable data secured onchain with full security configurability.Learn more: https://www.entangle.fi/ContactFaisal [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    MetaWin Raises the Bar for Transparency in Online Gaming

    MetaWin, a leading platform for online prize-winning games, has introduced a groundbreaking initiative focused on enhancing transparency and fairness for players globally. After extensive research, MetaWin identified inconsistencies in Return to Player (RTP) rates among different operators, causing confusion among players.Understanding RTP is crucial for players looking to make informed gaming choices. In simple terms, RTP represents the percentage of wagers that a game returns to players over time. For instance, a game with an RTP of 97% would typically return around $97 for every $100 wagered.MetaWin has introduced a maximum win guarantee for all its games, aiming to maintain the highest RTP levels across the platform. According to the team, this measure is designed to provide players with exceptional odds and a satisfying gaming experience.Users can experience the MetaWin difference with MAX RTP: Return to Player and join MetaWin in shaping the future of online gaming.For more information, users are welcome to visit MetaWin.About Metawin: MetaWin, a leading prize-winning online platform, is revolutionising the landscape of digital competitions. Utilising blockchain technology, MetaWin ensures every competition is characterised by transparency, fairness, and excitement. With a proven track record of offering substantial prizes and a dedicated focus on innovation, MetaWin is reshaping the future of online contests.Official Website | Telegram | Discord | InstagramContactPR [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin price today: BTC drops below $65k as dollar rebounds to 3-week high

    Bitcoin traded down 3.3% at $64,889 by 06:42 ET (10:42 GMT). The token saw a heavy dose of consolidation from record highs over the past seven days, but still remained steady above weekly lows. Strength in the dollar was the biggest source of pressure on crypto markets, as an unexpected interest rate cut from the Swiss National Bank and dovish signals from the Bank of England saw traders stick firmly to the greenback as among the few high-yielding, low risk currencies. The dollar index surged to a three-week high of over 104 points.The world’s largest cryptocurrency was now trading down about 5% from last Friday’s levels, amid pressure from the dollar and sustained profit-taking. The token had surged to record highs above $73,000 last week, as it benefited from strong capital flows into the recently-approved spot exchange-traded funds in U.S. markets. These funds were a key point of support for Bitcoin so far in 2024, with the token trading up around 50% for the year. Bitcoin also remained well above lows hit during the week, when anticipation of a Federal Reserve meeting drove the token as low as $60,000. But the near-term outlook for the token was clouded by a strong dollar, as signs of resilience in the U.S. economy, in comparison to its peers in the developed world, made the greenback appear especially attractive. The Fed may also lag most of its central bank peers in cutting interest rates.Still, with the Fed maintaining its outlook for at least three interest rate cuts in 2024, the dollar is expected to eventually decline. Markets are still positioned for a 25 basis point cut in June, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.Such a scenario bodes well for Bitcoin, given that the token’s highly speculative nature helps it thrive in a low-rate environment.A halving event, which is expected to slash the generation of new Bitcoin by 50%, is also expected to push up prices in 2024. The halving is expected to occur by April.”ETF activity may begin to slightly fade away and make room for the highly-anticipated halving. With the way ETF activity impacts Bitcoin now, it is this rewards-halving event that will determine Bitcoin’s next course of price action,” Elitsa Taskova, Chief Product Officer at Nexo, told Investing.com More