San Francisco, California – Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global saw a 14% surge in its shares during after hours trading, following its announcement of its first quarterly profit in two years. The company credited this achievement to increased trading volumes in the crypto market, especially after the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. This led to a 50% increase in the price of bitcoin in the final three months of last year, while Coinbase’s transaction volume jumped by 64% to $529.3 million over the same period.
Coinbase’s Chief Financial Officer, Alesia Haas, expressed optimism about the company’s momentum heading into the first quarter, and predicted sustainable profitability in the next few quarters.
In Japan, Finance Minister Suzuki expressed urgency in monitoring the yen’s movements and emphasized the importance of stable currency rates reflecting market fundamentals. The yen weakened and was trading at the 150 per dollar level, following the country’s entry into a technical recession.
Meanwhile, China markets expert Yan Wang highlighted the need for “more clear signals” from Beijing for aggressive policy easing in order to combat the growth downturn. This came in the wake of forecasts projecting a slower pace of economic growth in China for the year 2024, compared to the previous year.
Singapore reported a 16.8% rise in non-oil domestic exports in January, with both electronics and non-electronics exports showing growth. Additionally, a report from Morgan Stanley suggested that the Nikkei 225 index is on track to hit all-time highs, with analysts maintaining a bullish stance on Japan equities.
Lastly, the S&P 500 closed at a record high, with all three major stock indexes ending the day on a positive note. This comes amidst speculation about the market’s valuation, with some analysts suggesting that the rally still has room to grow. Oil prices also rallied on the back of a weakening dollar, following earlier concerns about weak demand forecasts for 2024.
Overall, the financial landscape continues to evolve, with fluctuations in cryptocurrency markets, currency valuations, and export data shaping the economic trajectory in various regions.