Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, February 24:
1. Dow set to break longest streak of record closes since 1987
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Friday after the Dow Jones hit its 10th straight record close a day earlier, its longest streak since 1987.
At 5:54AM ET (10:54GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures lost 0.23%, S&P 500 futures traded down 0.25% and the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.34%.
Asian shares already took a breather on Friday, slipping from a one-and-a-half-year high as material shares were hit by sudden falls in copper and other commodity prices while investors assessed U.S.
President Trump’s statement that has not "held back" in his assessment that China manipulates its yuan currency, despite not acting on a campaign promise to declare it a currency manipulator on his first day in office.
"Well they, I think they're grand champions at manipulation of currency. So I haven't held back," Trump said. "We'll see what happens."
European stocks were lower on Friday, as investors continued to focus on daily corporate earnings reports amid ongoing political uncertainty in Europe and the U.S.
2. Bitcoin pulls back from all-time high
The bitcoin hit a new record high on Friday on the back of speculation that the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) could approve a U.S.-issued ETF on the digital currency, perhaps increasing its attractiveness for institutional investors.
The SEC will decide by March 11 whether to approve a proposal for a bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) filed almost four years ago by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. If approved, it would be the first bitcoin ETF issued and regulated by a U.S. entity.
Hopes are that the SEC regulation would not only backstop confidence in the digital currency, encouraging institutional investors to place money in the asset, but that those institutions would provide a bit of stability to trades.
According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which averages prices from the major exchanges, the crypto-currency reached an intraday high of $1,206.60. That pushed the bitcoin past the prior all-time record of $1,165.89 set in November 2013.
However, sell orders poured in after hitting the record high and the index was last down 0.47% at $1,172.84 by 5:57AM ET (10:57GMT).
On the New York-based itBit exchange, bitcoin lost 0.62% to $1,180.10, pulling back from an intraday high of $1,215.93.
3. Eyes on Trump executive order, housing data
After Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that he planned to pass a “very significant” tax reform plan by Congress’ August recess but remained vague on the specifics, market participants looked ahead to next Tuesday when Trump will address of a joint session of Congress in the hopes that the President could provide more details.
On Friday, Trump was scheduled to sign an executive order at 12:00PM ET (17:00GMT) although it wasn’t clear what theme the President would tackle.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening that Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, pushed to exclude criticism of a global climate deal from a forthcoming executive order.
Trump was expected to sign at least two orders “within days” aimed at unraveling former President Barack Obama's environmental and climate regulations, according to the financial newspaper.
On the data front, market players looked ahead to a fresh reading on the housing sector with the release of new home sales for January, as well as a revision to the February Michigan consumer sentiment both out at 10:00AM ET (15:00GMT).
4. Oil investors have largest bullish position in history
Oil investors have placed the biggest bet in history that prices will rise, as the world's largest exporters cut output to reduce a glut in supply, and the futures market is suggesting for the first time in a year that they could be onto a winner.
According to Reuters data, fund managers now hold more Brent oil futures and options contracts than at any time on record, equivalent to some 480 million barrels of oil and nearly double the amount held just two months ago.
With that information in the backdrop, oil prices fell on Friday after official data released late on Thursday showed stockpiles rose last week for a seventh straight week, although losses were muted as inventory growth was well below expectations.
Investors also looked ahead to the latest reading on U.S. drilling activity from Baker Hughes.
The oil field services provider said last week the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by six, the fifth weekly increase in a row. That brought the total count to 597, the most since November 2015.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.50% to $54.18 at 5:59AM ET (10:59GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.55% to $56.27.
5. China reacts to Trump’s accusation of being 'grand' currency manipulator
China said on Friday it has no intention of using currency devaluation to its advantage in trade, responding to an assertion from U.S. President Donald Trump that Chinese officials are the "grand champions" of currency manipulation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the United States could "fully and correctly" view the exchange rate issue.
"China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi," he told a daily media briefing in Beijing.