Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.
Pre-open movers
U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Nasdaq tumbled 2.5% in the previous session. Investors are awaiting earnings results from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC).
Data on retail sales, import prices and export prices for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for December will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories for November and University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 10:00 a.m. ET, while New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 104 points to 36,093.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 12 points to 4,664.00. Futures for the Nasdaq index gained 33.75 points to 15,524.00.
The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 65,236,470 with around 869,210 deaths. India reported a total of at least 36,582,120 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 22,815,820 cases.
Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9% to trade at $85.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.6% to trade at $82.64 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.
A Peek Into Global Markets
European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.7% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.7%, while German DAX dropped 0.7%. German economy expanded by 2.7% in 2021, rebounding from a 4.6% contraction in 2020. French government budget deficit widened to EUR 181.02 billion in January-November, compared to a EUR 176.85 billion gap in the year-ago period, while annual inflation rate was confirmed at 2.8% year-over-year for December. Spain's consumer prices increased 6.5% year-over-year in December. UK’s gross domestic product increased by 1.1% during the three months to November, while industrial production rose 1% from a month ago in November. UK’s exports of goods and services increased 4.6% from a month ago to a 22-month high of GBP 57.1 billion in November, while imports rose by 3.8% to an 11-month high of GBP 56.4 billion.
Asian markets traded lower today. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.28%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.19%, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.96%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1% and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.1%. India’s annual wholesale price inflation rate fell to 13.56% in December from 14.23% in the prior month. Chinese trade surplus widened to a new record high of $94.46 billion in December from $75.8 billion in the same month a year ago. Producer prices in Japan climbed 8.5% from a year earlier in December.
Broker Recommendation
Keybanc upgraded Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) from Sector Weight to Overweight and announced a $230 price target.
Five Below shares rose 1.8% to $179.63 in pre-market trading.
Check out other major ratings here
Breaking News
- Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIM) said same store sales fell 2.5% year-over-year for its Good Times brand for its first quarter ended December 28, 2021. Its same store sales, however, surged 24.0% for its Bad Daddy’s brand during the same period.
- Key Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier and the world’s largest chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NYSE:TSM) plans to spend up to $44 billion in 2022 to expand capacity, Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday.
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has begun to accept and denominate merchandise on its online shop in Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE).
- Artificial intelligence-focused fintech group Qraft Technologies Inc. said it has received a $146 million investment from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY).
Check out other breaking news here
Crypto Whales Are Loading Up — Are You?
New research shows the biggest crypto buyers are back. And this time? They could hold for the possibility that Bitcoin will surpass $100,000 in 2024. You don’t want to miss the next massive crypto bull run like we saw in 2020 and 2021. To know exactly what’s going on and what to buy… Get Access To Benzinga’s Best Crypto Research and Investments For Only $1.
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