Asian stocks rise, Bitcoin hits record high ahead of U.S. inauguration
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks rose early Monday as Bitcoin surged to a record high ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for a holiday.
Bitcoin prices surged from $99,563 to $109,134 early Monday, according to CoinDesk. Cryptocurrencies have surged since Trump's election, with investors betting on his favor for the asset class.
European benchmark indexes rose in early trading, with the UK's FTSE 100 index rising slightly by 0.1% to 8,515.80 points and the Paris CAC 40 index rising by 0.2% to 7,729.06 points. Germany's DAX index was essentially flat at 20,902.00.
S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.8% to 19,925.81 points after China's central bank kept key lending rates unchanged. The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1% to 3,244.38 points.
A Hong Kong court has extended until next month a deadline for embattled property developer Country Garden to reach an agreement with its creditors, the latest step in China's property sector's recovery from a long slump.
Upbeat comments from U.S. and Chinese officials ahead of Trump's inauguration later on Monday also boosted sentiment. The two sides' pledge to work to improve relations may have eased some concerns about trade tensions. Trade tensions are growing as companies prepare for possible increases in tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the United States.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to 38,902.50 points. The dollar fell against the yen, falling from 156.31 yen to 156.17 yen. Expectations are growing that the Bank of Japan may raise its key interest rate at its monetary policy meeting later this week. Higher interest rates tend to push up the value of the yen against the dollar.
The euro rose against the dollar from $1.0281 to $1.0309.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.1% to 2,520.05 points. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5% to 8,347.40 points.
Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.5% and India's Sensex rose 0.7%. Bangkok SET rose 0.1%.
In other trading earlier on Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 19 cents to $77.20 a barrel and international standard Brent crude fell 23 cents to $80.56 a barrel.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1% and the Dow rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%.
Oilfield services provider SLB helped lead the market by posting profits and revenue at the end of 2024 that topped analysts' expectations. The company's shares rose 6.1% after it also raised its dividend by 3.6% and said it would return $2.3 billion to investors by buying back its own stock.