Stocks are little changed, crypto names rise as bitcoin tops $100,000: Live updates
The price of Bitcoin against the US dollars, reaching over $100,000, on a screen at a cryptocurrency exchange store in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. stocks were relatively unchanged on Thursday following a record day for equities, while bitcoin also reached all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 78 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite traded just below the flatline.
Bitcoin traded more than 3% higher, breaking above $100,000 for the first time. The move led crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy and Coinbase respectively 0.7% and 3% higher.
Bullishness in crypto has previously translated into sharp gains for the Nasdaq Composite. However, this wasn’t the case on Thursday.
The three major averages saw solid gains in the previous session, posting record closes.
“The problem you have is that valuations are stretched across the board,” said Keeley Teton portfolio manager Brian Leonard in an interview with CNBC. “You’re sitting at records, but there’s not a lot of enthusiasm or euphoria. Historically, when the records happened, the valuations were more reasonable.”
This comes as first-time filings for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 30 rose by 9,000 to 224,000, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 215,000. On the other hand, the level of continuing claims, which run a week behind, edged lower by 25,000 to 1.871 million.
Meanwhile, a Census Bureau report released Thursday also revealed that the U.S. trade imbalance was lower than expected in October. Investors are now awaiting November’s nonfarm payrolls data, due out on Friday morning.
This labor report could inform the Federal Reserve’s rate cut decision at its next meeting later this month. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during an onstage interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit that the U.S. economy is strong enough for the Fed to move carefully on rate cuts.
“The labor market is better, and the downside risks appear to be less in the labor market,” he said. “Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming [out] a little higher. So, the good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral.”
