Due to concerns about the overall economic outlook, US consumer confidence saw its biggest drop since August 2021. The three major US stock indices only saw a slight increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while Nvidia's stock price fell 2.8% ahead of its earnings release. The crypto market led the US stock market in a decline yesterday, with Bitcoin briefly dropping to $86,050 and Ethereum reaching a low of $2,313. There have also been recent signs of capital outflows from Bitcoin ETFs. The market will focus on Nvidia's earnings and the PCE index on Friday.
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ToggleUS consumer confidence plunges, seven tech giants under pressure
Due to concerns about the overall economic outlook, US consumer confidence saw its biggest drop since August 2021. This data was released after recent disappointing performances in the retail, service, and housing sectors.
Additionally, US President Trump announced that tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect as scheduled after the 30-day grace period ends.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.475%. The Nasdaq index fell 1.35%. The index of the "seven tech giants" fell 2.2%. Nvidia's stock price fell 2.8% ahead of the company's earnings release, Tesla's stock price fell 8.4%, and its market capitalization fell below $1 trillion.
BTC hits low of $86K, capital outflows from Bitcoin ETFs
The crypto market led the US stock market in a decline yesterday. Bitcoin briefly dropped to $86,050, and Ethereum reached a low of $2,313, with Solana seeing the deepest decline, falling nearly 50% in the past month. This may be related to the large amount of SOL tokens that will be unlocked in March.
The large purchases by exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors drove the rise in cryptocurrencies after the US election, but there are now signs of withdrawal. BlackRock's spot Bitcoin fund IBIT shrank by $158 million on Monday, and investors withdrew $247 million from Fidelity's FBTC, the third-largest outflow among all ETFs. According to Bloomberg industry research data, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of over $956 million in February alone, the highest monthly outflow on record for this category.
Yesterday, BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes also issued a warning, as many hedge funds have been long IBIT while short CME futures to capture the spread. But as Bitcoin has declined, the spread has narrowed, and the hedge funds will likely unwind their positions and take profits during US trading hours, which could quickly push Bitcoin towards his target price of $70,000!
(Arthur Hayes warns: Hedge funds taking profits, Bitcoin may dump to $70,000)
Market focuses on Nvidia earnings and PCE index
Nvidia's data is a key barometer for the prosperity of the AI and artificial intelligence industry. In Nvidia's earnings report on Wednesday (Thursday morning Taiwan time), investors will not only focus on whether the chipmaker's profits, revenues, and sales volumes exceeded expectations, but will also closely watch CEO Jensen Huang's outlook for the company's future prospects.
The Fed's preferred inflation indicator, the PCE index, will be released on Friday, and the market expects it to drop to the lowest level since June.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk, and their prices may fluctuate dramatically. You may lose your entire principal. Please carefully evaluate the risks.