Russia Talks Cause Oil to Drop, Bitcoin Nears Record High – Asia Market Wrap

Equity-index futures in the US and Europe rose, but oil dipped on the anticipation that a conference between US and Russian leaders would increase the chances of resolving the situation in Ukraine and boosting crude supply.

Contracts for European stocks and the S&P 500 Index increased 0.2%. Oil and gold fell 0.6% as Trump prepared to meet with his Russian counterpart Putin on Friday. Asian markets rose 0.3%, while the Dollar index dropped 0.2%. Bitcoin increased by 3.2% to $122,000, bringing it close to a record high. Due to Japan’s holiday, there is no cash trading in Treasury securities in Asia.

Asian lithium stocks rallied, while most semiconductor firms sank.

Bitcoin has approached an all-time high in the cryptocurrency market, as demand from institutional investors and corporate treasury purchasers increases the overall market for digital assets. Ether reached its highest level since December 2021, surpassing $4,300 after a weekend rally.

Asia’s semiconductor stocks slumped after Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the US government 15% of their chip sales income to China as part of an export license agreement with the Trump administration.