Markets

Bitcoin +4,480 at $103,254
Gold down -$2.76 or -0.10% at $2646.75
US 2-year yield 4.138%, +1.7 basis points
US 10-year yield 4.193%, up 1.0 basis points
WTI crude oil near unchanged at $68.55
Nikkei 225, up 172 points or 0.44%
Shanghai composite +0.16% in
Hong Kongs Hang Seng -1.0%
China CSI300 -0.13%
So.Korea Kospi -0.45

The US dollar is little changed with the DXY dollar index is down -0.02% in what was a listless start to tthe trading day.

EUR, -0.10
JPY -0.25%
GBP, unchanged
CHF unchanged
CAD, unchanged
AUD -0.06%
NZD -0.29%

The low to high trading ranges are likewise limited with 5 of the 7 major currency pairs with ranges of less than 20 pips. :

EURUS 17 pips
USDJPY 59 pips
GBPUSD19 pips
USDCHF 13 pips
USDCAD 14 pips
AUDUSD 16 pips
NZDUSD 23 pips

The forex day was limited with the NZDUSD and the USDJPY leading with way with changes of 0.29% and 25% respectively (higher vs the USD for both). The other currency pairs vs the were either unchanged or within 0.10% of unchanged

While no eyes were focused on the USD and forex, all eyes were on the digital currencies.

Bitcoin is trading up $4,400 or 4.5% and surpassed the Bitcoin $100K level for the first time ever. The price is currently trading at $103,300.
Ethereum is up $16 or 0.42% at $3860
Doge is up 0.026 or 6.17% at $0.46

The digital currencies got a boost yesterday when Fed Chair Powell equated Bitcoin to Gold and basically didn’t endorse nor deny it’s existence. Maybe he is trying to stay on the good side of the new administration but given his prior comments, I doubt it. The fact is people trade bitcoin so let it trade.

The US is still a day away from the US jobs report, but the weekly claims and the challenger job cuts will be announced in the US session later today.

In Europe, German Factory orders and EU retail sales will be announced. Below is the full schedule (ET).

1:45 AM (CHF):
- Unemployment Rate: Forecast 2.7%, Previous 2.6%
2:00 AM (EUR):
- German Factory Orders m/m: Forecast -2.0%, Previous 4.2%
2:45 AM (EUR):
- French Industrial Production m/m: Forecast 0.2%, Previous -0.9%
4:30 AM (GBP):
- Construction PMI: Forecast 53.5, Previous 54.3
5:00 AM (EUR):
- Retail Sales m/m: Forecast -0.3%, Previous 0.5%
Tentative (EUR):
- Spanish 10-year Bond Auction: Previous Yield 2.92 | 1.7
All Day (All):
7:30 AM (USD):
- Challenger Job Cuts y/y: Previous 50.9%
8:30 AM (CAD):
- Trade Balance: Forecast -1.0B, Previous -1.3B
- Unemployment Claims (USD): Forecast 215K, Previous 213K
- Trade Balance (USD): Forecast -75.2B, Previous -84.4B
10:00 AM (CAD):
- Ivey PMI: Forecast 53.1, Previous 52.0