ADDX GO Market Morning Wrap - 17th Jan

US Market

On Thursday, Eastern Time, the U.S. stock market opened higher but ended lower, with all three major indices closing in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.16%, closing at 43,153.13. The S&P 500 declined 0.21%, ending at 5,937.34. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.89%, closing at 19,338.29.

Key Events

The U.S. Supreme Court has hinted that it may rule on Friday (17 January) on the "sell or ban" TikTok ban, which was scheduled to go into effect on Sunday (19 January).The Biden administration has said it will not enforce the TikTok ban, which was scheduled to go into effect on 19 January, and will leave the matter to the incoming Trump administration, according to media reports citing government officials with knowledge of the matter.Still, TikTok may voluntarily choose to shut down its U.S. operations on that day, a move designed to send a clear message to its 170 million U.S. users about the broader implications of the ban.
Morgan Stanley released its fourth quarter performance report for 2024 on Thursday (January 16th) before the market opened. Affected by trading revenue exceeding expectations, the bank's quarterly profit more than doubled.

Asian Markets

Most of Asian markets climbed on Thursday (Jan. 16) as the report of lower-than-expected inflation in the US boosted markets' confidence in the Fed to have more rate cuts. Investors gained positive signals from Wall Street's overnight rally while monitoring Japan's central bank rate decisions.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.33%, underperforming regional peers as the yen strengthened on the speculation of a Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike. The mainland's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.28%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.23%. South Korea's KOSPI climbed 1.23%, defying the central bank's unexpected rate decision.

Key Events

From 13 January to 15 January, the number of global downloads of Little Red Book on Android surged to 1.08 million, most of which came from the U.S. Between 13 and 14 January, Little Red Book attracted 2.38 million Google searches.

Forex

The U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.12%, closing at 108.955 in the forex market.

Key Events

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that if inflation data continues to improve, the Fed might cut interest rates sooner and faster than expected. He noted that a rate cut in March cannot be ruled out, citing a stable but not overheated U.S. labor market, and expressed the view that tariffs would not have a significant impact on inflation.
According to the latest survey, nearly three-quarters of Bank of Japan (BOJ) watchers anticipate an interest rate hike next week. This expectation has risen following BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks that the board would discuss such a move.

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin dominates with 54.95% of the market cap, followed by Ethereum at 11.22%, BNB at 2.93%, and MATIC at 0.03%.

Among the top 30 coins, 14 are up and 16 are down, with an average decline of -2.05%. Top performers in the last 24 hours include HBAR (+16.58%), EOS (+9.49%), and ALGO (+7.84%), while the biggest decliners were HVI (-4.58%), EOS (-4.49%), and DEXE (-6.69%).

Key Events

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order elevating cryptocurrencies to a national policy priority and creating a national bitcoin inventory, people familiar with the matter said.

Market Events and Most Anticipated Earnings Releases

#bitcoin