Bitcoin hits fresh record as Fed easing bets add to tailwinds TOKYO (Reuters) -Bitcoin hit a record high on Thursday as increasing expectations for easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve added to tailwinds from recently announced financial reforms. The world’s largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation climbed as much as 0.9% to $124,002.49 in early Asia trading, surpassing its previous peak hit in July. On the day, the second largest crypto-token ether hit $4,780.04, the highest level since late 2021. Bitcoin’s rally is being powered by increasing certainty of Fed rate cuts, sustained institutional buying and moves by the Trump administration to ease investment in crypto assets, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. "Technically a sustained break above $125k could propel BTC to $150,000," he wrote in a note. Bitcoin has risen nearly 32% so far in 2025 on the back of long-sought regulatory wins for the sector following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Trump has called himself the "crypto president" and his family has made a series of forays into the sector over the past year. An executive order last week paved the way to allow crypto assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, highlighting an increasingly favorable regulatory environment in the United States. Crypto has scored multiple regulatory wins in the U.S. over 2025, including the passage of stablecoin regulations and the U.S. securities regulator’s move to overhaul regulations in order to accommodate the asset class. Bitcoin’s surge has also sparked a broader rally in the asset class over the past few months, shrugging off the tremors of Trump’s wide-ranging tariff policies. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the crypto sector’s overall market capitalisation has ballooned to over $4.18 trillion, up from about $2.5 trillion in November 2024, when Trump won the U.S. presidential election. The latest push for crypto adoption in the United States came via an executive order on Thursday last week, which would ease access to the asset class in 401(k) retirement accounts. The executive order could also be a boost for asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity, which operate crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Crypto’s push into retirement savings can also be peppered with risks, as the asset class tends to experience much more volatility than stocks and bonds, which asset managers had typically relied on for such accounts. Before you buy stock in BLK, consider this: ProPicks AI are 6 easy-to-follow model portfolios created by Investing.com for building wealth by identifying winning stocks and letting them run. Over 150,000 paying members trust ProPicks to find new stocks to buy – driven by AI. The ProPicks AI algorithm has just identified the best stocks for investors to buy now. The stocks that made the cut could produce enormous returns in the coming years. Is BLK one of them?

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Global stocks rise, dollar soft on Fed easing bets - Reuters Global stocks rise, dollar soft on Fed easing bets  Reuters

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Asian stocks climb, dollar droops on Fed easing bets - Reuters Asian stocks climb, dollar droops on Fed easing bets  Reuters

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Asian stocks climb, dollar droops on Fed easing bets By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) -Asian equities rose on Thursday, with Japanese shares hitting a record high, as tech-led gains on Wall Street, upbeat earnings and growing expectations for U.S. rate cuts boosted sentiment. The prospect of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine also underpinned sentiment, benefitting the euro, while weighing on oil prices as traders gauged the outlook for sanctions on Moscow. Sterling held its ground at a one-week high going into the Bank of England’s policy announcement later in the day, with a quarter-point cut widely expected, and the focus falling on a possible three-way split within the board. At the same time, markets largely shook off Trump’s latest tariff threats, including an additional 25% tariff on India over purchases of Russian oil and a threatened 100% duty on chips. Japan’s broad Topix index rose 0.9% to reach an all-time high, with the more tech-focused Nikkei also gaining by about the same margin. Taiwan’s stock benchmark surged 2.3% to a more than one-year peak. South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4%, and mainland Chinese blue chips advanced 0.3%. Australian shares edged slightly lower after hitting a record high on Wednesday. U.S. stock futures were buoyant, with those for the S&P 500 up 0.3% and those for the Nasdaq also rising 0.3%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%. "Wall Street seems to have gotten its mojo back," Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda wrote in a note. "However, there are persistent risks to the downside. Downside surprises in official data are increasing," he said. "Valuations are also stretched, with forward price to earnings hovering around the highest in four years. And trade uncertainty persists." The U.S. dollar remained lower against major peers on Thursday, with expectations of easier policy from the Federal Reserve stoked both by some disappointing macroeconomic indicators - not least Friday’s payrolls report - and Trump’s move to install new picks on the Fed board that are likely to share the U.S. President’s dovish views on monetary policy. Focus is centring on Trump’s nomination to fill a coming vacancy on the Fed’s Board of Governors and candidates for the next chair of the central bank, with current Chair Jerome Powell’s tenure due to end in May. The dollar index, which gauges the currency against the euro, sterling and four other counterparts, gained slightly to 98.245, after dropping 0.6% on Wednesday. The euro was little changed at $1.1657, following the previous session’s 0.7% jump. Sterling was steady at $1.3356. The BoE looks poised to cut interest rates for the fifth time in 12 months later on Thursday, but nagging worries about inflation are likely to split its policymakers and cloud the outlook for its next moves. Two Monetary Policy Committee members may push for a half-point rate cut, and two may lobby for no change. The dollar added 0.1% to 147.53 yen. Gold gained 0.4% to around $3,382 per ounce, buoyed by the weaker dollar. Crude oil clawed back some losses from Wednesday, when both Brent and West Texas Intermediate slid about 1%. Brent crude futures were last up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $67.09 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.57 a barrel.

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Wells Fargo slashes 2025 Fed easing outlook to 75 bps, sees risk of September cut Investing.com - Wells Fargo has slashed the amount it expects the Federal Reserve to ease interest rates by this year, flagging that the impact of sweeping U.S. tariffs has yet to be determined. In a note to clients, the analysts said they now anticipate that the Fed -- which is tasked with helping both maximize employment and corrall inflationary pressures -- will lower interest rates by 75 basis points by the end of 2025, down from a prior outlook of 100 basis points. "Price data are only beginning to reflect tariff-related costs and the degree of persistent price growth remains an open question," the analysts wrote. "Hiring also remains stable, suggesting the timing and degree of Fed easing may be pushed out and scaled back." However, they added that there is still a chance that the central bank could reduce borrowing costs from their current range of 4.25% to 4.5% at its September meeting "if the labor market stumbles in the next month or so." Broader growth is also anticipated to slow as businesses and consumers rein in spending in response to uncertainty over the trajectory of Trump’s aggressive tariff drive. Although Trump has delayed most of his punishing "reciprocal" tariffs on a host of countries, it is still unclear if the White House will be able to secure a series of fresh trade deals prior to the expiration of the pause early next month. Trump has hinted at a willingness to possibly extend the postponement, saying on Wednesady that negotiations were ongoing with 15 countries. Despite worries over the possible effect of Trump’s tariff agenda on inflation, U.S. consumer prices rose at a slower-than-anticipated annualized pace in May. The Labor Department’s consumer price index increased by 2.4% year-over-year last month, accelerating from 2.3% in April but cooler than expectations of 2.5%. On a monthly basis, the measure eased to 0.1%. Economists had projected that the gauge would match April’s reading of 0.2%. An uptick in shelter costs underpinned much of May’s increase, although this was offset by falling gasoline prices that dragged energy expenses down 1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement. Which stock should you buy in your very next trade? AI computing powers are changing the stock market. Investing.com's ProPicks AI includes 6 winning stock portfolios chosen by our advanced AI. In 2024 alone, ProPicks AI identified 2 stocks that surged over 150%, 4 additional stocks that leaped over 30%, and 3 more that climbed over 25%. Which stock will be the next to soar?

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