The Big Question: Are we about to witness another huge run in ethereum?
Prices of ethereum and litecoin continued on a solid upswing Tuesday morning in Asia, while bitcoin pointed slightly lower.
Ethereum saw the biggest gain among the three main coins at midday, adding more than 6 percent to a fresh all-time high of $834. Ethereum has been gaining for four straight days starting Saturday, adding about 20 percent to the price since then.
Litecoin tracked closely ethereum’s solid gains on Tuesday morning. At midday, the cryptocurrency moved up 3.70 percent to $372, after losing about 2.85 percent earlier in the morning. Litecoin has also see a winning streak since Friday, gaining about 32 percent since then.
Things are a bit quieter for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’ price was down a slight 0.6 percent to $18,920 at midday on Tuesday. Bitcoin has been trading lower since Sunday, despite the recent futures debut on the CME Group’s exchange.
Japan’s Finance Minister is not a big fan of bitcoin or even cryptocurrencies in general. The minister said on Tuesday that bitcoin is not a proven and credible currency, and he would watch developments of bitcoin closely.
Main Market Movers – Midday Asian Trading Session
| Indexes | Value at Midday | Daily Change |
| Japan- Nikkei 225 | 22,916 | 0.07% |
| China-Shanghai Composite Index | 3,285 | 0.53% |
| Hong Kong –Hang Seng | 29,300 | 0.86% |
| South Korea-KOSPI | 2,481 | -0.01% |
| Australia-ASX 200 | 6,079 | 0.68% |
| S&P 500 E-Mini Futures | 2,695 | -0.01% |
Major Asian equities continued on a positive trend on Tuesday morning, with markets in Japan, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Australia all pointing higher, as investors’ optimism for a US tax code overhaul grew substantially.
Equities in Hong Kong led the way on Tuesday morning. As of midday, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.86 percent to 29,300. The Hang Seng gained about 0.45 percent on yesterday.
Aussie stocks also posted relatively big gains on Tuesday morning. The ASX 200 gained 0.68 percent to 6,079 at midday, following a 0.71 percent increase on Monday.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.53 percent at midday on Tuesday to 3,285. Investors in China are also waiting for policy directions from a key meeting set to conclude on Wednesday – the Central Economic Work Conference – that will set the directions for 2018. Financial regulations are widely expected to be strengthened next year.
Equities in Tokyo also pointed higher Tuesday, though only slightly. The Nikkei 225 Index edged up 0.07 percent to 22,916 at midday, erasing a loss of 0.03 percent in earlier trading.
In South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.01 percent to 2,481 at midday.
The S&P 500 E-Mini Futures was also down 0.01 percent to 2,695.
The biggest market mover appears to be growing optimism for a comprehensive tax code overhaul in the US. US media are reporting that Republican lawmakers are all but certain to pass the legislation sometime this week and send it to the White House to be signed before Christmas.
Currencies
The Japanese yen was down 0.07 percent against the US dollar at midday Tuesday, changing hands at 112.62 per dollar.
The Chinese yuan depreciated 0.01 percent against the US dollar to 6.6153 per dollar.
The Australian dollar was also down 0.08 percent on the dollar, changing hands at 1.3054 per dollar after midday in Australian trading.
Commodities
WTI Oil was down 0.05 percent to $57.30 per barrel at midday on Tuesday.
Brent Crude was flat at $63.43 per barrel.
Gold was down 0.01 percent to $1,261 an ounce.
News across Asia
In China, local governments are planning to phase out heavy subsidies for research and development of new energy vehicles as the segment continues to grow very fast, but problems such as subsidies cheating and possible overcapacity plagues the industry. However, recent official statements suggest that the government will phase out the support gradually and will keep subsidies for more advanced technologies for new energy cars.
Take away: This could slow down what has been described as a promising sector that has attracted billions of dollars in investments from foreign and domestic auto companies.
In Japan, the Japanese government has adjusted up its GDP growth forecast for the fiscal years of 2017 and 2018 to 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively – a significant increase. The government also estimated that consumer inflation will rise 0.7 percent this fiscal year and 1.1 percent in 2018, way below the BOJ’s 2 percent target.
Take away: Though the world’s third-largest economy has been improving, constantly missing consumer inflation targets would complicate the continuation of BOJ’s ultra-easy monetary policies.
Featured image from Pixabay.
Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term trading.