US and European stocks mostly rebound; bitcoin slumps

LONDON: US and European stocks mostly rose Monday, bucking Asian losses as investors mulled the US interest rate outlook, while bitcoin sank on news of a Chinese crackdown.

London firmed less than a tenth of a percentage point in afternoon trading after UK supermarket group Morrisons rejected a takeover approach.

Frankfurt gained 0.7 percent and Paris rose by 0.3 percent.

Wall Street opened mostly higher, with the Dow adding 0.1 percent after the blue-chip index turned in last week its worst performance since October by tumbling 3.4 percent.

"A cautiously positive start to the week ... as investors attempt to put the volatility of last week behind them," summarised IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Rising instances of the Delta (Covid) variant in Europe will likely weigh on European markets -- but the overall view continues to be that the second half of the year will see a further return to normality."

However analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com said that the rebound on Wall Street might be more technical in nature than driven by fundamentals.

"One of the main drivers of support this morning is arguably a recognition from buyers that this key technical level has consistently presented a good buying opportunity over the past 14 months," he said.

"Amid an absence of macro-moving news, the positive bias seems more likely to be technically-oriented," O'Hare concluded.

However, Asian equities tumbled on growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will begin lifting interest rates as early as next year to prevent the economic recovery from overheating.

European indices dived by about two percent on Friday, as traders digested the Fed's pivot towards more restrictive policy.

To soothe traders fretting over surging inflation, central bank officials have for months pledged to maintain ultra-loose monetary policies until the rebound was well on track.

But last week the Fed brought forward its forecasts for tightening.

The news was initially taken broadly in stride by investors as the Fed's so-called "dot plot" outlook for rates suggested it would not begin hiking until 2023, and would discuss winding down its bond-buying programme later this year.

But investors were spooked later by comments from St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard that liftoff could come as soon as late 2022.

That sparked hefty losses on Wall Street.

The selling continued Monday in Asia, with Tokyo posting a drop of more than three percent.

Meanwhile, bitcoin slumped more than 10 percent at one point after China intensified a crackdown on trading and mining operations.

The world's most popular digital currency later stood down 4.1 percent at $32,517.71.

Beijing has pulled the plug on the massive bitcoin mines of Sichuan province, in a regulatory assault on the digital currency that has rattled the market.

Chinese authorities now have the financial system increasingly in their sights.

Key figures at 1330 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,021.93 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.7 percent at 15,555.89

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,589.58

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,102.53

New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 33,511.99

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.3 percent at 28,010.93 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 28,489.00 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,529.18 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1904 from $1.1864 at 2100 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3893 from $1.3810

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.67 pence from 85.90 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.19 yen from 110.21 yen

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $73.37 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $71.74 per barrel