The Big Question: What is driving the divergent moves in bitcoin and ethereum?
Prices of cryptocurrencies were in a largely mixed mode, with bitcoin plunging and prices of ethereum and litecoin posting major gains overnight during the Asian trading session on Tuesday.
As of midday in Asia, bitcoin was down 4.10 percent to $5,630 – about the same level as seen on Friday, when the virtual currency moved all the way to a record high of around $6,200. Since Friday, however, bitcoin has been stuck in a steady downtrend.
In stark contrast to bitcoin, the price of ethereum saw a 5.33 percent gain Tuesday morning, bringing the virtual currency’s price back above $300. Tuesday morning’s gain was the largest in a single day since October 13.
However, ethereum has been struggling to move up, and has been in an overall downtrend since October 16, falling from a high of around $350 to as low as about $275.
Litecoin also saw a gain of 2.65 percent to $55.84. Along with bitcoin, litecoin has also been trending down since Friday.
Main Market Movers – Mid-day Asian Trading Session
Major Asian equity markets traded relatively higher during Tuesday morning’s session, but gains were modest as investors are watching leadership changes expected today in China, following the closing session of the Party Congress.
In the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.08 percent to about 3,383 before midday. The CSI 300 Index, which tracks the 300 largest companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, was up 0.53 percent to 3,951 before midday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged up 0.03 percent to around 28,315 before midday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.14 percent to around 21,726. The gain on Tuesday morning is pushing the benchmark to extend a winning streak to 16 trading sessions. Japanese investors are also watching Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose ruling party just won a commanding majority in parliamentary elections, as he prepares policies for a new term.
In South Korea, the Kospi gained a slight 0.09 percent to around 2,492 shortly before midday.
Down Under, the ASX 200 also added 0.11 percent to around 5,896.
Markets are watching the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is coming to an end today following a week of meetings. Changes to the leadership in the powerful politburo and its standing committee are expected to be announced later today.
Currencies
The Japanese yen gained 0.07 percent the US dollar at midday Tuesday to 113.35 per dollar.
The Chinese yuan firmed 0.20 percent against the US dollar at 6.6249 per dollar.
The Australian dollar gained 0.14 percent on the dollar, changing hands at 1.2787 per dollar at midday.
Commodities
WTI Oil was up 0.25 percent to $51.96 per barrel.
Brent Crude gained 0.24 percent to $57.44 per barrel.
Gold was up 0.11 percent to $1,282 an ounce.
Business News across Asia
In Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will host the next round of TPP talks, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership, next week for the 11 nations remaining in the trade pact, from which the US withdrew itself after Donald Trump took office.
Take away: Though countries, particularly Japan and some others, want to save the trade pact, outlook remains dim because the members reportedly are divided over how to move forward without the US.
In China, all eyes are on the aftermath of the Party Congress. The twice-a-decade occasion is expected to produce a lot of changes to leadership, development paths, environmental issues, and continued opening up of the Mainland financial markets.
Take away: For the world of finance, the most interesting changes would be the leadership of the politburo, top regulators, and the central bank.
Featured image from fee.org
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