Global stocks under pressure; Bitcoin hits another record

Global equity bulls were nowhere to be found during Tuesday’s trading session as market players evaluated the possible impact of proposed US tax cuts.

World stocks were mostly lower amid a global technology selloff, with the lack of appetite for riskier assets punishing European shares and Wall Street.

 Asian markets stumbled lower during early trading on Wednesday, following Wall Street’s overnight decline.

With the renewed Brexit uncertainty likely to tarnish risk sentiment further, European stocks remain vulnerable to further downside. 

American shares are still at risk of extending losses this afternoon, if concerns heighten over a potential US government shutdown on Friday if a spending bill is not approved.

 US ADP NFP report in focus

The Greenback edged slightly lower against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday, ahead of the US ADP private sector jobs data for November.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the dollar remains highly sensitive to the progress on tax reform legislation and this is reflected in price action.

Although, senate passed its version of the tax bill over the weekend, investors remain cautious as the senate and the house of representatives still need to reconcile their differences and agree on a final bill to send to Donald Trump.

 Focusing on today, the ADP NFP will be in the spotlight with economists forecasting a 189k rise in the month of November. Dollar bulls seem to be in need of fresh inspiration and this could come in the form of a solid ADP print this afternoon.

Technical traders will continue to observe how the dollar index behaves below 93.50. A breakout above 93.50 may encourage a further incline higher towards 93.80. Alternatively, a failure for prices to break above 93.50 could open a path back towards 93.00.

 Bitcoin does it again

Bitcoin displayed its brawn and unyielding resilience to financial market volatility on Wednesday as prices marched to fresh record highs above $12300.

The CBOE global markets and CME group have fuelled investor attraction and legitimised Bitcoin’s investment profile by planning to launch futures that track the cryptocurrency.

The explosively bullish price action is likely to continue attracting investors from all directions and as such this has the ability to support further upside.

Although Bitcoin has appreciated by a mind-bending 1100% since the beginning of the year, bulls seem far from tired with the next technical level of interest at $12500.