U.S. stocks initially fell due to weekend airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, experiencing significant intraday volatility before ultimately closing around the flat line. Bitcoin surged to $70,096 last night, driving a general rise in cryptocurrencies. Increased ETF inflows and DAT purchases provided fundamental support, with the Fear & Greed Index slightly recovering to 15.
The Middle East conflict continues to escalate, and US stocks ultimately closed flat.
As the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, investors are seeking safe-haven assets, leading to a rise in the price of the US dollar and gold. Energy and defense stocks are up, and shares of several technology companies with strong balance sheets are also rising, while airline stocks are down.
The near-paralysis of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of a major Saudi refinery highlight the threats to oil supplies. On Monday, West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 6%, while European natural gas prices surged after Qatar shut down the world's largest liquefied natural gas export plant.
Market concerns that rising energy costs will push up inflation and limit the Federal Reserve's easing policies weighed on the bond market. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 10 basis points to 4.03%. Traders have now fully priced in the first U.S. rate cut in September, while expectations for a third rate cut in 2026 have almost disappeared. The dollar rose 0.7%.
Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson believes that unless there is a sharp and sustained rise in oil prices, the Middle East conflict is unlikely to shake their bullish view on U.S. stocks.
Bitcoin briefly touched $70,000, and ETFs saw net inflows last week.
Bitcoin surged to $70,096 last night,带动 the overall cryptocurrency rally, after BTC had fallen to around $63,000 over the weekend. Increased ETF inflows and DAT purchases provided fundamental support, and the Fear & Greed Index rose slightly to 15.
Last week, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of approximately $800 million, but year-to-date, these ETFs have seen net outflows of $1.5 billion. Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of approximately $100 million.
Shares of cryptocurrency-related companies closed higher on the day. Strategy (MSTR) rose 6.3%, Circle (CRCL) rose 15.2%, and Coinbase (COIN) rose 5.3%.
This article, titled "Middle East Conflict Continues to Spread, Bitcoin Once Touched $70,000," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
