Bitcoin drops to a 7-month low while global stocks sell off; bonds rally

[LONDON] Stocks sold off and Bitcoin hit a seven-month low as investors pulled back from riskier corners of the market before a high-stakes week featuring Nvidia’s earnings and a pivotal US jobs report.

A gauge of global stocks hovered around a one-month low, while Asian shares fell 2 per cent and are on track for a third straight day of losses. Almost four stocks fell for every one that rose in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which slipped below its 50-day moving average for the first time since April. That’s seen by some investors as a bearish signal.

Contracts for the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and European stocks all indicated more losses for global shares. As sentiment weakened, Bitcoin slid below US$90,000 for the first time in seven months. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark Treasury 10-year falling three basis points to 4.11 per cent.

The moves highlighted lingering uncertainty over interest rates and tech earnings, with Nvidia’s Wednesday report set to test investor nerves over lofty valuations surrounding the artificial intelligence sector. Attention will then shift to the delayed September jobs report due on Thursday, which will provide investors with clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.

It’s “the kind of broad and uneasy selloff that erupts when visibility collapses,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne. “The rush out of risk – from Bitcoin to high-flying tech – reflects a defensive instinct against the ‘unknown unknowns,’ and until visibility improves, volatility stays the base case.”

Alarm bells are ringing for analysts who study chart patterns in the US stock market, fuelling concern that the latest dip could swell into a full-blown correction of at least 10 per cent.

A sharp selloff in the S&P 500 on Monday extended the decline from its last record on Oct 28 to 3.2 per cent. The benchmark index closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time in 139 sessions, breaking the second-longest stretch of this century above the closely watched trend line.

The Nasdaq Composite Index is also flashing some “ugly” signals, according to John Roque, head of technical analysis at 22V Research. More of the index’s 3,300-some members trade at 52-week lows than highs, he said, a sign of internal market weakness that makes a further rally unlikely. 

“It has been a great year in general for investors, however nerves are clearly increasing into the year end,” said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney. “We may see further volatility in the next few weeks as we hit the Christmas trading period.”

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In other corners of the market, a gauge of the dollar held its gains from the prior session. Gold posted a fourth day of losses to trade just above US$4,000 an ounce, underpinned by fading expectations of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next month. Lower rates typically make non-yielding bullion more appealing to investors.

Nvidia’s shares also fell in US trading after a filing showed Peter Thiel’s hedge fund sold its stake in the chipmaker during the third quarter.

Bitcoin’s drop deepened a month-long slide that has erased the cryptocurrency’s gains for 2025 and rocked sentiment across the digital-asset world. 

The reversal comes amid rising economic headwinds, including renewed concerns over interest-rate policy and stretched valuations across speculative markets. 

“Volatility in the cryptocurrency space is spilling over to other risky assets, with the ongoing market calibration of the Fed’s December rate cut probability also contributing modestly to the jitters,” said Homin Lee, a senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier. “The nervousness will persist until the September employment report provides greater clarity. A soft labour market data or a large beat in Nvidia earnings could help.”

The path for rate cuts is the other major theme investors are concerned about amid conflicting views from central bank officials.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said he sees risks to the labour market as skewed to the downside, but warned policymakers need to proceed slowly. Fed Governor Christopher Waller is backing a cut in December, citing weak jobs. Traders are pricing in about a 40 per cent chance of a rate cut next month.

“Fed officials continue to voice concerns over sticky inflation, emphasizing that the current information vacuum makes it difficult to assess the economy’s true momentum,” Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd., wrote in a note.

Corporate News:

• Akzo Nobel NV is in advanced talks to combine with rival paintmaker Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.
• Shares of Baby Shark creator Pinkfong Co., jumped as much as 62 per cent on its trading debut as investors snapped up the studio behind YouTube’s most-viewed jingle, following strong demand for the small initial public offering.
• Amazon.com Inc. raised $15 billion in its first US dollar bond offering in three years, adding to a spree of jumbo debt sales by technology firms.
• Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, has become the biggest shareholder in US rare-earths producer MP Materials Corp., boosting her global bet on strategic minerals.
• Rio Tinto Group will almost halve production at its Yarwun Alumina refinery in Australia as a waste stockpile reaches capacity and the company seeks to cut costs.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% as of 1:55 p.m. Tokyo time
• Japan’s Topix fell 2.2%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 2%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.5%
• The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 1.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.1596
• The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 155.08 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1141 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 2.5% to $89,529.26
• Ether fell 0.9% to $2,978.73

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.11%
• Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 1.745%
• Australia’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.44%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $59.51 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.9% to $4,010.56 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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