Bitcoin Rises as Investors Seek Dollar AlternativesMarket Talk

0847 GMT - Bitcoin rises as investors seek alternatives to the dollar after President Trump renewed his call for the Federal Reserve to deliver immediate interest rate cuts, Zaye Capital Markets analyst Naeem Aslam says in a note. "Trump's statements have had a notable impact on Bitcoin's price dynamics," he says. Recent weak U.S. data also add to concerns about a potential economic slowdown, bolstering bitcoin's appeal as a hedge against traditional market volatility. Bitcoin's gains underscore its sensitivity to macroeconomic indicators and political discourse, Aslam says. Bitcoin rises 1.5% to $88,653 after hitting a two-week high of $88,812 overnight, according to LSEG. ([email protected])0842 GMT - Candriam favors rotating out of bonds from non-core eurozone countries into core countries such as Germany due to the expectation for weaker economic growth in the region, says Nicolas Jullien in a note. "We reduce our overweight on Spain and go underweight on Italy," the head of global fixed income says. In a scenario where investors are fleeing risky assets, Candriam expects Germany to benefit the most. The asset manager still likes Spanish government bonds fundamentally, "but investor sentiment will likely cause Spanish bonds to rally less than German bonds in the event of a flight to quality," Jullien says. ([email protected])0815 GMT - The euro could rise to $1.20 if the Federal Reserve caves to pressure from President Trump to cut interest rates, ING's Francesco Pesole says in a note. That's the next key resistance level for the euro after it rose above $1.15 following renewed calls from Trump for immediate rate cuts, he says. "We would however see that more as the top of the dollar's confidence crisis rather than a new normal for the pair." The European Central Bank is likely to cut rates twice more this year and dollar hasn't lost its status as the dominant reserve currency, he says. The euro trades flat at $1.1509 after hitting a near three-and-a-half-year high of $1.1574 Monday, according to FactSet.([email protected])0733 GMT - Eurozone government bond yields are barely changed in post-Easter trade and continue to outperform U.S. Treasurys. U.S. Treasurys have underperformed, causing yields to rise, after President Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and suggested he could remove him from office before his mandate ends in May 2026. The Treasury curve steepened Monday. European investors await flash estimate purchasing managers data for April on Wednesday, one of the key market-moving indicators. The 10-year Bund yield is flat at 2.461% while the 10-year Treasury yield is up 1.5 basis points at 4.419%, according to LSEG. ([email protected])0722 GMT - The dollar would fall along with other U.S. assets if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left his post prematurely due to pressure from President Trump, Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown says in a note. Trump last week suggested he could fire Powell if he wanted to as he criticized the Fed Chair for not cutting interest rates. This will stir greater fear among market participants who were already taking a dim view of the dollar's safe haven and reserve currency status given the "shambolic nature" in which the White House has been conducting itself, Brown says. The DXY dollar index rises 0.1% to 98.3760 after falling earlier in the session and hitting a three-year low of 97.921 Monday. ([email protected])0718 GMT - Euro-denominated credit spreads tightened last week after the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points, CreditSights analysts say in a note. Spreads on euro investment-grade credit tightened by 8 basis point to 111 basis points while spreads on euro high-yield credit tightened by 25 basis points to 387 basis points. Euro-denominated corporate bond yields also declined, with euro investment-grade yields falling 15 basis points to 3.1% and euro high-yield yields down 33 basis points to 6.1%, CreditSights says. ([email protected])0706 GMT - President Trump may sack U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell but would have to slice further into the central bank's independence in order to bend it to his will, Capital Economics' Paul Ashworth writes in a note. The president has renewed his criticism of Powell, demanding rate setters to cut interest rates. Even if Trump succeeds in removing Powell from his post before the end of the latter's tenure next year, he would likely have to fire the other six members of the Fed Board too to ensure compliance, Ashworth says. Filling the Fed with underqualified puppets would "trigger a more severe market backlash, with the dollar falling and rates at the long end of the yield curve rising." ([email protected]; @joshualeokirby)0653 GMT - Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.2% lower at 34220.60 as weakness in electronics and machinery shares offset gains by trading houses. Lasertec dropped 2.9% and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries fell 2.2% while Mitsubishi Corp. gained 3.9% and Marubeni rose 3.9%. Broader market index Topix rose 0.1% to 2532.12. USD/JPY is at 140.35, after dipping to 139.89 earlier, its lowest level since Sept. 16, compared with 140.86 as of Monday 5 p.m. Eastern time. The market is focused on any news related to U.S. tariffs. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 2 bps to 1.305%. ([email protected]; @kosakunarioka)0652 GMT - South Korea's benchmark Kospi edged 0.1% lower to close at 2486.64, snapping a three-session winning streak. Trading was range-bound and choppy. Foreign investors were net sellers, with sentiment weighed by declines on Wall Street overnight due to concerns about President Trump's trade war and his online attack on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics was down 0.7%. Memory-chip maker SK Hynix fell 1.6%. Budget airline Jin Air slid 2.6%. USD/KRW settled 0.1% higher at 1,420.60 in Seoul onshore trading. South Korea's 10-year government bond yield was up 1.6 bps at 2.618%. ([email protected])0640 GMT - The dollar remains under pressure after hitting a three-year low Monday following renewed calls from President Trump for interest rate cuts. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said there is "virtually no inflation" and warned the U.S. economy would slow if the Fed doesn't immediately cut rates. His comments triggered a broad selloff in U.S. assets on rising concerns over Fed independence, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a note. "While potential risks to Fed independence had already generated headlines in recent weeks, yesterday's market moves were the clearest sign yet of investor anxiety over the topic." The DXY dollar index falls 0.1% to 98.159 after reaching a low of 97.921 on Monday.([email protected])0631 GMT - RBC Capital Markets updates its forecast for European Central Bank interest-rate cuts, expecting two more rate reductions, its analysts say. Following Thursday's 25-basis-point reduction, RBC now expects two more cuts to bring the terminal deposit rate to 1.75%, the analysts say. "The ECB cut its policy rate [last Thursday] by 25 basis points as was widely expected, but we were surprised by the ease with which it happened." RBC expects the next two 25-basis-point rate cuts in June and September. Money markets expect more than that, pricing in approximately two and half rate reductions, according to LSEG data. ([email protected])0618 GMT - Singapore's CPI likely rose 1.1% on year in March, according to the median estimate of seven economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. That would be higher than February's 0.9% increase. Headline inflation probably accelerated in March due to an increase in car prices, in line with higher certificate-of-entitlement premiums, Nomura economist Charnon Boonnuch says in an email. Core CPI likely rose 0.7% on year in March, the WSJ poll showed. That would also be higher than February's 0.6% increase. The data are due Wednesday. ([email protected])