Markets
Will this week’s economic events shake up cryptocurrency markets?
The highlights of the coming economic week are the Federal Reserve meeting minutes and a big earnings report from semiconductor giant Nvidia.
There are also reports on global manufacturing and services sector indices and consumer inflation expectations that could influence the markets slightly.
Economic calendar May 20-24
Last week the US Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time. The stock rally was fueled by favorable data in IPC Reportwhich has triggered speculation that the US economy is cooling and that the central bank could cut rates in the coming months.
The Federal Reserve’s May FOMC meeting minutes will be released on Wednesday of this week. These could offer more information about future monetary policy and a timescale for rate cuts.
The preliminary May global manufacturing PMI report will be released on Thursday, capturing business conditions in the manufacturing sector.
On May 23, a similar PMI report is also published for the services sector. This is a crucial leading indicator as the service sector is responsible for more than 70% of total US GDP and a sign of changing economic conditions.
On Friday we will see the May Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, which measures inflation expectations. These reports portray the results of a monthly survey of consumer confidence levels in the country.
Also on Wednesday is the semiconductor giant’s highly anticipated quarterly revenue report Nvidia which could keep tech stocks and cryptocurrencies rising.
“The bulls want Nvidia to extend the run to record highs, and the bears want Nvidia to top out,” commented Kobeissi’s May 19 letter.
Asian markets rallied on Monday, May 20, following Wall Street’s gains. Investors in the region are awaiting this week’s economic data, with eyes on Japan for inflation data and South Korea for a rate decision.
Impact on the cryptocurrency market
With no major economic events this week, cryptocurrency markets are unlikely to be significantly impacted and volatility is likely to remain low.
Cryptocurrency markets were held out last week, with total capitalization topping $2.5 trillion and capital gains over the weekend. However, they declined slightly over the past 24 hours, down 1.2%.
Bitcoin fell to an intraday low of $66,000, but found support there and is back up to $67,000 as of this writing during Monday morning’s Asian trading session.
Ethereum fell 1.3% on the day, falling back to $3,078 after hitting a weekend high of $3,142. THE altcoins were mostly in the red this Monday morning.