Stock markets in Asia and Europe experienced a decline on Monday following the release of lackluster economic data from China. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin surged to over $106,000, reaching new highs.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX fell by 0.4% to 20,333.79, the CAC 40 in Paris dropped by 0.8% to 7,347.16, and Britain's FTSE 100 declined by 0.4% to 8,268.12. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed slight gains.
Bitcoin was trading at $104,601 on Monday, up 2.4% from previous levels but slightly lower than its peak of $106,495. The surge in bitcoin's price has been attributed to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's favorable stance on the cryptocurrency, signaling a more relaxed regulatory approach.
Chinese economic indicators for November revealed a slowdown in retail sales, flat growth in factory output, and a decline in home sales. Despite stable economic conditions and employment, concerns over the future outlook were raised due to uncertainties surrounding Trump's potential tariff hikes on Chinese imports.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 remained almost unchanged, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell by 0.9%, and the Shanghai Composite index slipped by 0.2%. South Korea's Kospi and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also experienced losses.
On Wall Street, major indexes closed with mixed results on Friday, concluding a volatile week. The S&P 500 ended flat, the Dow Jones slipped by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose slightly. The market's performance has been influenced by mixed economic reports and anticipation of the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting.
The Fed is expected to announce its third interest rate cut since September during its meeting this week. The central bank's series of rate cuts have driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs this year. The Fed's shift from aggressive rate hikes to cuts was prompted by a slowing job market and easing inflation.
In commodity markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil and Brent crude both experienced losses, while the U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen and the euro.
