Bitcoin dipped below $90,000 on Friday as Asian stocks posted modest gains after the Bank of Japan held rates steady, with investors weighing softer US tariff talk alongside signs of US economic resilience.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.3%.
Japan’s central bank left its interest rate steady at about 0.75% after wrapping up its two-day policy meeting on Friday.
The hold followed a rate increase in December that lifted borrowing costs to their highest level in three decades, after policymakers judged the chances of meeting the 2% inflation target had improved.
Bitcoin: $89,795, down 0.1%
Ether: $2,960, down 1.7%
XRP: $1.91, down 1.6%
Total crypto market cap: $3.11 trillion, down 0.3%
Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said: ”The biggest threat today for global risk-assets, including BTC and altcoins, is around debt sustainability. If yields rise too much, the cost of financing (and investment attractiveness) of risk-assets requires lower prices.”
On Wall Street, stocks extended a rebound for a second session on Thursday after President Donald Trump walked back earlier tariff threats on European goods and ruled out taking control of Greenland by force.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9%, with investors rotating back into equities after the midweek jitters.
The rally also broadened, with the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at a record high, even as the week stayed choppy, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.4% for the week and the Dow was little changed.
In rates and FX, the dollar index held near 98.329 and hovered around its lowest levels of the year after its biggest one-day fall in six weeks.
Fed funds futures implied a 96% chance the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold at its Jan. 28 meeting, and the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up to about 4.247%.
Commodities stayed in focus as precious metals pushed deeper into record territory, with gold up 0.3% to $4,951.47 per ounce and silver up 1.7% at $97.85.
South Korea led the regional move, the Kospi rose 1.1% for a third day after crossing 5,000 for the first time, a level President Lee Jae Myung had pledged to target through market reforms and tax measures aimed at narrowing the so-called Korea discount.
Tech also kept traders busy after Intel forecast quarterly revenue and profit below estimates, sending its shares down 11% in after-hours trading, a reminder that earnings season can still reshape sentiment quickly.
Read original story Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Dips Below $90K, Wall Street Rebound Lifts Asia Risk Mood by Shalini Nagarajan at Cryptonews.com
