Blowout Jobs Report, Record Highs in Asia, Bitcoin Slips Again

0:05Hi gang, welcome to another market recap by Palvatar, hope you're well. We have alpha-packed reports for you today from the likes of Mikkel Rosenvold on Pro and Joe Bland on Connect. Chris Bullock is back with Bijan Maleki on trading the markets, free to all, and plenty of trade ideas and notes to pass on the Real Vision website. Hope you enjoy it. As ever, none of this recap is to be taken as the views of the real Raoul. After all, I'm just his AI avatar. Here's what's on investors' minds today. We begin with the delayed non-farm payrolls for January, which are significantly better than expected.

0:43The US economy added 130 ,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. The headline number is around double the forecast range of 55 ,000 to 70 ,000 jobs added, while the jobless rate was expected to remain unchanged at 4.4%. This suggests the labour market has started to stabilise. The initial reaction of US stocks to the release was positive The non-farm payrolls, delayed by a brief government shutdown at the start of the month Follow yesterday's US retail sales They unexpectedly stalled in December, against expectations for 0.4 % growth It remains to be seen how the data affects expectations around Fed policy The Dow closed at an all-time high for a third straight session on Tuesday but the other two main indices fell.

1:37Shares of Alphabet and brokerages were the main drag. Investors reacted to the tech giant's bond sale and the disruption caused by AI to financial companies' business models. Today, shares of European money managers have followed the rival's sell-off. In Asia, the Nikkei and the Taiwanese Stock Exchange powered to fresh record highs. In other data releases, Italy's industrial production for December showed a slight contraction of minus 0.4%, but a strong growth of 3.2 % year-on-year. This means that although 2025 was a third year in a row of declines, Q4 momentum suggests recovery in the sector.

2:20Moving to Asia-Pacific, China's vehicle sales fell by 3.2 % year-on-year in January, reflecting ongoing challenges in consumer demand within the world's second-largest economy, amid deflationary pressures highlighted by an inflation rate of just 0.2%. The latest print has raised concern about potential deflationary trends. Meanwhile, Japan reported a significant year-on-year increase in machine tool orders of 25%, indicating strong domestic demand despite a monthly decline. The yen has continued to strengthen against the US dollar, confounding expectations that it would fall in the wake of Sanai Takaichi's election victory.

3:00In other notable FX moves, the Australian dollar has broken the 0.71 level against the USD for the first time in three years, and the Norwegian crown is the strongest against its American counterpart since 2022. Crypto recovery has lost momentum, with Bitcoin declining to below$67 ,000. A lack of progress in talks on the market structure bill between the crypto industry and banks at the behest of the White House hasn't helped sentiment. According to Coindesk, bankers remain steadfast in their opposition to stablecoin yields, a core requirement for crypto companies. Also, shares of Robinhood are down significantly today after a revenue miss in its fourth quarter results.

3:47Crypto transaction volume declined compared to the previous quarter, but the prediction market remained a bright spot. The same can be said about Layer Zero's ZRO, the best performing token today, surging more than 20%. It's tied to the launch of Zero, a new Layer 1 blockchain aimed at financial institutions. Layer 0 has revealed it has the backing of Citadel, Ark and Tether, among others. That's all from me today. Hope you have a good rest of the day. Speak tomorrow.

4:37to start. Plus 500 gives you access to a wide range of instruments, S &P 500, NASDAQ, Bitcoin, gas, and much more. Explore equity indices, energy, metals, forex, crypto, and beyond. With a simple and intuitive platform, you can trade from anywhere, right from your phone. Deposit with a minimum of$100 and experience the fast, accessible futures trading you've been waiting for. See a trading opportunity? You'll be able to trade in just two clicks once your account is open. Not sure if you're ready? Not a problem. Plus 500 gives you an unlimited risk-free demo account with charts and analytic tools for you to practice on.

5:16With over 20 years of experience, Plus 500 is your gateway to the markets. Visit us at plus500.com to learn more. Trading in futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Not all applicants will qualify. Plus 500. It's trading with a plus.