New York, Dec 29 (AFP) The Dow drifted to a fresh record Also Read - Joe Biden Administration 'Undecided' On Ending Trump-Era H-1B Visa Ban
today in sleepy holiday trading, while bitcoin prices tumbled Also Read - This 10-Second Video Clip Has Been Sold For a Whopping Rs 48.4 Crore, What's Special About It?
after South Korea announced new restrictions on Also Read - Joe Biden Revokes Donald Trump's Visa Ban On Many Green Card Applicants, Says US Businesses Harmed
cryptocurrencies.
Most of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial
Average advanced in a quiet session, the latest record on the
heels of dozens of earlier all-time highs in US equities this
year.
US stocks have been boosted all year by an improving
labour market, anticipation of the massive US tax cut plan
that was signed into law last week by President Donald Trump,
and improving economic conditions in other key regions.
With many traders on holiday, the week between Christmas
and New Year is traditionally a sleepy time for markets, among
the least traded period of the year. That low volume can cause
increased volatility.
“There wasn’t much trading excitement in the stock market
because there was a dearth of market-moving news, as well as a
dearth of participants,” Briefing.com said.
“For the third day running, extremely light trading
volume reflected the fact that many market participants have
checked out until the new year.”
In Europe, London’s FTSE ended the session flat, while
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index lost 0.7 per cent and the Paris CAC
0.6 per cent as the euro strengthened on the dollar.
Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong rose 0.9 per cent and Shanghai
gained 0.6 per cent, while Sydney put on 0.3 per cent.
But Tokyo finished 0.6 per cent lower after an afternoon
sell-off fuel curbed by the strengthening yen, as traders fret
over another possible North Korean missile test.
Bitcoin sank under USD 14,000 after South Korea said it
would ban anonymous trading of virtual currencies and crack
down on links to money laundering activities.
The announcement came as the hyper-wired market emerged
as a hotbed for cryptocurrency trading, accounting for some 20
per cent of global bitcoin transactions — about 10 times the
country’s share of the world economy.
The new rules announced by Seoul include a ban on opening
anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and new legislation to allow
regulators to close virtual currency exchanges if necessary.
The digital unit has seen stratospheric growth this year,
rising more than 25-fold from January to hit a record around
USD 19,500 earlier this month, according to Bloomberg figures.
(AFP)
This is published unedited from the PTI feed.
