Asian markets begin week on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters

HONG KONG: Asian markets rose Monday following a record close on Wall Street as traders welcomed Donald Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, while Bitcoin’s push to US$100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark at the end of last week.

The gains came ahead of the release of key US data that could provide a fresh idea about the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rates amid expectations the next president’s tax and tariffs plans will reignite inflation, tempering rate cut bets.

Investors are also keeping tabs on the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, which have helped push oil prices higher in recent weeks.

Investors gave the thumbs-up to news that Trump had fingered billionaire investor Scott Bessent to lead the treasury, with optimism he will take a considered approach to the economy.

Bessent, CEO of hedge fund manager Key Square Group, has called for an extension of tax cuts from Trump’s first term, wants to reassert American energy dominance, and believes it is necessary to deal with the budget deficit.

In recent times, he has called for tax reform and deregulation to spur growth, and wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that this would be key to “restarting the American growth engine” and keeping prices in check.

This month, he called tariffs “a negotiating tool with our trading partners” in an opinion piece for Fox News, adding it was “a means to finally stand up for Americans”.

While his views are seen as hawkish, markets started on a bright note, with Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, telling Bloomberg TV: “(Bessent) brings this sense of almost gradualism to the administration as opposed to taking a big bang approach to making big policy changes.”

Markets may be relieved that the pick signals “an ‘America First’ kind of administration but not an ‘America Exclusively’ kind of administration”, he added.

After a strong finish Friday on Wall Street – where the Dow ended on a fresh record – Asian markets followed suit.

Tokyo advanced more than 1%, even as the yen pushed up against the dollar, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also sat in positive territory.

Bitcoin sat at around US$97,600, having set a record high of US$99,728.34 on Friday, with traders awaiting the next catalyst to push it past the historic US$100,000 mark.

The digital currency has bounded about 50% higher since Trump’s election at the start of the month, with hopes he will usher in measures to ease restrictions on it.

Attention this week will be on a series of releases out of Washington that could sway US central bankers ahead of their next rate decision in December.

Among the key points of interest are the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, minutes from the bank’s most recent policy meeting, economic growth, and jobless claims.

Oil prices dipped after a recent run-up fuelled by concerns over Israel’s ongoing wars with Hamas and Hezbollah as well as Russia’s decision to hit Ukraine with a new-generation intermediate-range missile that ramped up tensions with the West.