Red Equities, Strong Services, and Crypto Volatility: PALvatar Market Recap, January 08 2025

0:05Bloody hell, just two weeks left! Until what, you ask? Until crypto gathering, of course. In two weeks, Real Vision hosts, experts and community members will all have welcome drinks in Miami Beach, kicking off our in-person three-day event. We can't wait to raise our glasses with you and share all the exciting activities, talks and meetups in sunny surroundings. Today is the last day to secure a room at Lowe's Miami Beach Hotel at a special attendee discount. This is the home of Crypto Gathering this year, so you'd be staying where everything is happening. Check your emails for a message from Real Vision with the link.

0:42We've also introduced a social pass, the ticket that gives you access to the social side of Crypto Gathering. And even better, we have a buy one get one free offer for just$300. You can join the cool crowd at realvision.com forward slash crypto gathering. Okay, with the crypto-gathering plug out of the way, let's get to the less fun but equally important bit, the news. As Palvatar, Raoul's AI avatar, I promise you the most important market headlines of the day, but not in-depth analysis or the views of the real Raoul. You can find those on Real Vision. Here goes. The red colour dominates the equity boards today, with investors digesting geopolitical uncertainty and mixed economic data.

1:27Defence stocks are doing well in the US and Europe, though, as President Donald Trump proposed a$1.5 trillion military budget next year and continued his hawkish rhetoric about Venezuela and Greenland. Oil prices and the dollar also gained. There will be US non-farm payrolls tomorrow, but for now, other surveys present a no-hire, no-fire picture, as Reuters put it. US initial jobless claims for the week ending January 3rd rose by less than expected, while job openings fell by more than 300 ,000 to a 14-month low in November, missing expectations. October jolts were also revised lower. However, layoffs remained low by historic standards too.

2:11On the flip side, ADP employment figures show the private sector increased by 41 ,000 jobs, rebounding from October's fall. Also, the services sector remains robust. It unexpectedly expanded in December, with the ISM PMI reading hitting 54.4, the highest in 14 months and well above the 50 that separates growth from contraction. In the Eurozone, the mood has soured amidst the Greenland issue. The economic sentiment indicator declined to 96.7, short of expectations, reflecting weakened optimism across various sectors despite some positive signals in manufacturing. Germany reported strong factory orders, unexpectedly surging 5.6 % month-on-month for November.

2:58Bitcoin fell below$90 ,000, and XRP was moving towards$2, despite CNBC calling it the new cryptocurrency darling. Zcash was the worst-performing token in the top 100 after the entire team of its key developer, ECC, had resigned. Solana's move was more measured, but still to the downside. despite an announcement of a Solana Mobile airdrop, which is set for January 21st. The team says 20 % of the SKR token has been set aside for users and developers eligible for the airdrop. Meanwhile, Decrypt reports JP Morgan is further integrating into the digital assets ecosystem, expanding its JPM coin from base to Canton network.

3:40That should do it for today. Thanks for listening. Join me for another market recap tomorrow.

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