Stocks reverse post-election rally
Bitcoin slipped under $76,000 on Thursday as a short-lived rally in risk assets reversed. Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping more than 6% to $75,463 on Bitstamp, the lowest level since Sept. 16. The move came as US equities gave back gains tied to the midterm election results.
The S&P 500 fell 2.7%. The Nasdaq Composite lost more than 4%, reaching its lowest level since July 29. Tech shares led the selloff, and traders appeared to rotate out of growth names. It may be too early to call this a trend change, but the speed of the reversal got attention.
Oil and policy risks add pressure
Oil moved the other way. WTI crude returned above $90 a barrel, while Brent rose 2.5% toward $97. Reports of fresh strikes on tankers in the Middle East and uncertainty over what steps Democrats may take to resolve the US-Iran war kept energy markets tense.
Jordan Watson, a portfolio manager at Tandem Investment Advisors, told CNBC that investors may face more volatility as they digest election results and policy implications. He said the equity gains after the midterms should not be treated as a clean signal that risks had passed.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian questioned whether a shift in Congress would really hurt tech over the long term. He wrote that he was less sure about that assumption and asked whether the rest of the market could thrive without tech earnings and spending. He called the day’s tech weakness not surprising.
Bitcoin tests 50-week support
In crypto, CoinGlass data showed nearly $500 million in positioning liquidated in the first hour of US trading. Total 24-hour liquidations neared $850 million at the time of writing.
BTC/USD approached the bottom of its one-month trading range and tested the 50-week simple moving average at $75,733. A break below that line could weaken the chart. Trader Rekt Capital noted that Bitcoin was repeating behavior from May, when rangebound trade around $80,000 gave way to a breakdown and new macro lows near $57,000 in late June.
For now, the market is watching whether buyers defend the $75,000 area or whether the pullback extends.
