NOTABLE MOVES
As of Thurs, Dec 27, 08:00 Singapore Time Zone UTC+8
USDJPY, +0.85%, $111.22
EURUSD, -0.01%, $1.1361
GBPUSD, -0.32%, $1.2647
USDCAD, -0.11%, $1.3575
AUDUSD, +0.53%, $0.7074
NZDUSD, +0.19%, $0.6739
S&P500, +4.96%, 2,467.70
Nasdaq, +5.84%, 6,554.35
Nikkei Futures, +5.79%, 20,067.5
MARKET WRAP
- The S&P 500 rallied 4.96% on Wednesday from what many believed to be extremely oversold conditions on a short-term basis. Rebounding oil prices ($46.13/bbl, +$3.45, +8.1%), strong holiday sales, and some short covering helped drive the S&P 500 to its best one-day gain since March 2009. Risk-on sentiment was on full display with all 11 S&P 500 sectors finishing with gains. The cyclical consumer discretionary (+6.3%), energy (+6.2%), and information technology (+6.1%) groups outperformed the broader market.
- Amazon (AMZN 1470.90, +126.94, +9.5%) and retail stocks, in particular, led the consumer discretionary space higher. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 40.65, +2.20) rose 5.7%. Amazon announced a record-breaking holiday season, and MasterCard’s SpendingPulse report noted that holiday sales from November 1 through December 24 showed the strongest year-over-year growth rate since 2011, resulting in a new record for dollars spent.
- Demand for U.S. Treasuries faded as investors flocked to riskier assets. Consequently, the 2-yr yield gained three basis points to 2.60%, and the 10-yr yield gained five basis points to 2.80%. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.5% to 97.07.
Korean Court Acquits Crypto Exchange Bithumb After Investor Filed Lawsuit Over $355K Hack
South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has won a lawsuit in which an investor had sued the company for his loss of around $355,000 in an alleged hack. The investor alleged he had been the victim of a hack of his Bithumb account on Nov. 30, 2017, which resulted in a loss of 400 million Korean won, or around $355,000. Within hours of making his won deposit, Mr. Park alleged an unidentified hacker had compromised his account and exchanged the fiat for Ethereum (ETH). That same day, in four separate transactions, the cryptocurrency was then alleged to have been transferred out of his wallet, reportedly leaving the investor with ETH worth just 121 won. At the heart of the case was reportedly the claim that Bithumb had failed to offer security safeguards that are adequate to its responsibilities as a purported “financial services” company. It was also argued that Bithumb’s activities as a crypto exchange are similar in kind to services offered in the financial sector, and should thus fall subject to the security requirements that apply to electronic commerce transaction brokers.
Bitcoin’s Price Will Go Below $3,000, Anthony Pompliano Tells Mainstream Media
Bitcoin (BTC) still has “lower to go” despite its bull run to above $4,000 last week, says Morgan Creek Digital Assets founder Anthony Pompliano. Pompliano, who is also a frequent markets commentator on social media, became the latest figure to claim Bitcoin markets will only bottom out when the price drifts below $,3000. Asked whether Bitcoin’s price was “correlated” with traditional or FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) stocks, Pompliano denied both assertions. Like cryptocurrencies, FAANG stocks have tumbled in 2018, with traditional stocks following over the Christmas period. “I definitely agree there are some psychological components at play as the stock market pulls down,” Pompliano continued, noting Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500 was “zero” and “near zero” with the dollar index.
2019 Stanford Blockchain Conference Spotlights Blockchain Security and ‘Risk’
Security and “systemic risk” will form the focus of the third Stanford Blockchain Conference at Stanford University on Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, organizers have revealed. Continuing the institution’s ever increasing interest in blockchain technology, the three-day event will see presentations and discussions on a variety of technical issues. Chaired by Stanford professors, among others, the event will see contributions from multiple cryptocurrency businesses, with input from names such as Blockstream, ConsenSys and Polychain Capital. Talks will come from representatives of industry businesses including Stellar-focused startup Interstellar and smart contracts platform Chainspace. Organizers wrote as part of the introduction to this year’s event that “multidisciplinary collaboration” is a main theme.