Investing.com – Top 5 things that rocked U.S. markets this week.
Euphoria in US Stocks Continues as Strong Earnings Extend Bull Run
US stocks rounded off the week with an all-time high close as investors continued to bet that corporates would beat earnings and revenue estimates.
Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported as of Friday, roughly 80% reported-better-than-estimated earnings, while 82 percent have surpassed revenue estimates, according to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) set the pace for earnings this week after posting earnings and revenue above consensus, while subscription growth also beat Wall Street estimates.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was one of the standout performers on Friday, closing more than 10% higher after reporting earnings Thursday after close, that beat on both the top and bottom lines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Friday.
WTI Crude Closed at Highest Since December 2014
Crude prices closed at more than two-year highs on Friday shrugging off an increase in the number of US oil rigs to the highest since Sept. 1 as a weaker dollar, and ongoing OPEC-led output cuts continued to dominate sentiment.
US production, however, crept higher as the Energy Information Energy reported Wednesday domestic crude production rose to nearly 9.9 million barrels a day last week.
Crude oil futures settled at $66.14 a barrel, up 63 cents.
Trump, Mnuchin Send Dollar on Rollercoaster Ride
The dollar suffered its sixth-weekly loss in a row against its rivals after President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to be odds somewhat over the outlook on the dollar.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier this week said: “Obviously a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities." That invited significant selling pressure in the dollar as it retreated further below three-year lows.
Yet, it wasn’t long until the greenback paired some those losses after President Trump said that the dollar "will get stronger," insisting that Mnuchin’s comments were “taken out of the context.”
Mnuchin, speaking to Yahoo Finance, clarified the uncertainty surrounding his outlook on the dollar as he said:
“Well, I think you know, people have misinterpreted some of my comments about the dollar this week.” “I was very clear I’m not making comments about where the dollar is in the short term."
Draghi Failed To Curb Euro Bulls; Sterling Soared
EUR/USD notched its sixth-straight weekly win, rising further above four-year highs despite European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi’s efforts to curb expectations that the central bank is poised to announce plans to unwind its massive stimulus programme.
GBP/USD added to last week’s gains, rising above $1.41, as traders cheered signs of an improving UK economy after GDP growth topped forecasts, while wages grew above forecasts in December, stoking expectations for a faster pace of inflation.
Investors Abandon the ‘Hodl’ as Fear Uncertainty and Doubt Grew
Bitcoin fell for the third-straight week as traders struggled to shake off the looming threat of regulation, while reports that one of Japan’s largest exchanges, Coincheck, was hacked did little to allay fears.
“All withdrawals from the coincheck platform are currently restricted, including yen,” Coincheck wrote in a blog post.
That sent shockwaves throughout the industry as Japan – widely thought of as the safe-haven for cryptocurrencies – accounts for 40% of global bitcoin transactions. Cryptocurrency traders appeared to abandon the “hodl” – hold on for dear life – as billions were wiped off the market.
The total cryptocurrency market cap fell to $474 billion below $478 billion – the level last seen following the so-called crypto-bloodbath on Jan. 16.
Stellar's lumens (XLM), however, continued to add to gains and surpassed Litecoin as the sixth largest coin by market cap amid signs of growing interest in XLM.
"We may add support for Stellar (to which we provided seed funding) if substantive use continues to grow," said Stripe product manager Tom Karlo in a blog post.