World shares dip but Bitcoin hits record high

LONDON: World shares dipped on Friday as investors awaited progress towards more U.S. fiscal stimulus, while the dollar was set for a weekly loss and cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit a record high.

European shares fell at the start of trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.2% on the day. Germany’s DAX was down 0.7%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.35% and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3%.

Italy’s FTSEMIB index fell 0.8% on the day, with the country’s bond yields were near record lows.

Markets in China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year. China’s stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed through Feb. 17 for the holiday.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.12%.

Earlier, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2%, trading just shy of a record high reached in the previous session. Australian stocks lost 0.63%. Shares in Tokyo fell 0.14%, pulling back from 30-year highs.

On Wall Street on Thursday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 gained 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02%.

Prices held near records as investors bet on more government spending, although enthusiasm was tempered when U.S. President Joe Biden said that China was poised to “eat our lunch,” raising fears of renewed strain on Sino-U.S. ties.

U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell less than expected and core consumer prices rose at a slower pace, which caused some traders to temper their optimism about the economic outlook.

Bitcoin reached a record high of $49,000 before erasing gains.

BNY Mellon’s announcement that it would help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets came just days after Elon Musk’s Tesla said it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would accept it as a form of payment for its cars.

Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,816.91 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,813.6. Gold prices are still on track for their best week in three amid broad dollar selling.

The dollar index rose 0.25% on Friday but was still on course for a 0.6% weekly decline.

Soft demand at an auction of $27 billion of new 30-year Treasuries on Thursday rattled bond investors.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell to 1.1532%. The 30-year yield initially rose but then fell back to 1.9370%.

Brent crude fell 1.05% to $60.50 a barrel, having dropped half a percent the previous session. U.S. oil fell 1.2% to $57.54 a barrel, after falling by 0.8% on Thursday.

OPEC cut its demand forecast and the International Energy Agency said the market was still over-supplied, which cast a gloom over energy markets.

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