June Drop-Off May Have Been the Bottom for Bitcoin — Market Talk

1139 ET - Trading earlier this summer that sent bitcoin below the $60k mark is being looked at as a potentially consequential event, says Bret Kenwell of eToro. In early June, bitcoin saw trading volumes spike to nearly $150 billion in a day, according to data from CoinGlass. Since then, trading volume has gradually trended lower, this as bitcoin stabilized around $62k to $65k. "June's volume spike was three to four times the 20-day moving average," explains Kenwell. "Combined with support emerging near $60,000, bulls hope that burst may have served as a miniature capitulation event - another step in bitcoin's long but necessary bottoming process." Kenwell cautions that bitcoin may not be in for "an immediate turnaround," but says that "a sustained move higher should bring trading volumes back with it." ([email protected] ET - Chili's is increasing its lead in casual dining, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman says on a call with analysts Wednesday. He credits the continued progress to the chain's ongoing turnaround efforts, which focus on long-term sustainable growth, improvements to food, service and atmosphere, and position the brand to be more relevant. "These experience improvements, coupled with our everyday value leadership--represented by a per-person average spend that is $3 to $4 below competition--are supporting a powerful flywheel of traffic and sales growth, margin expansion, and then reinvestment into our business," Hochman says. "We still have room to improve, but our progress gives us confidence that we will sustain traffic gains and repeat business." Shares are up 5.3%. ([email protected])1059 ET - The July CPI report is unlikely to determine what FOMC policy makers may do when they meet next month, according to a note from Santander's Stephen Stanley. The unrounded core CPI posted a 0.215% rise, which translates to a 2.6% annualized pace, he points out in a note. "Given what we know now, I continue to expect the FOMC to hike in September (and again in December)," he says.([email protected])0926 ET - Oil futures are lower in early U.S. trading with little movement seen toward an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The IEA says it now expects global oil demand to fall by 1.6 million barrels a day this year, more than the 1 million b/d drop it previously expected. With supply seen falling by 4.3 million b/d, it still implies further global inventory draws as this year proceeds, Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. Given uncertainty over the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz, the forecasts "don't carry the weight that they would under normal market conditions," the firm adds. WTI is off 0.5% at $82.78 a barrel and Brent is down 0.6% at $88.36. ([email protected])0916 ET - Projections for a rate hike at September's Fed meeting fall slightly, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Investors now see a 42.1% chance of a 25-basis point hike, down from 48.4% Tuesday. Still, the July CPI report showed that core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose by 0.2% from the previous month. Policymakers monitor core inflation to ensure price pressures do not become more widespread. ([email protected])0901 ET - Treasury yields hold mostly steady after July CPI comes in as expected. Consumer prices increased 3.4% year-over-year, down from 3.5% in June and in line with economists' views. The 2-year yield is at 4.178%, down slightly from 4.184% before the report's release. The 10-year yield is at 4.655%, up slightly from 4.648%. More data on price pressures will be available tomorrow from the PPI report, another inflation measure that feeds into the Fed's preferred inflation measure, PCE. ([email protected])0856 ET - U.S. stock futures are moving higher following July inflation data that came in as expected. The CPI was up 0.1% month-over-month and up 3.4% year-over-year, the core rate also came in as expected at 2.5% year-over-year. The inflation data follows a weaker-than-expected July jobs report last week showing payrolls falling by 23,000, and might give Fed policy makers some breathing room on the question of whether to raise rates when they meet next month. S&P futures are up 39 points. ([email protected])0515 ET - The data-center construction boom is creating a new era of construction, operational, climate and insurance risks, a report from German insurer Allianz's commercial arm says. Annual investment in data centers is projected to double to more than $1 trillion as early as 2027 compared with 2024 levels, with the next phase of investment having an increasingly global reach, the insurer says. Insurance cover has become a requirement for financing many artificial-intelligence infrastructure projects, it adds. The data-center insurance market is projected to grow to more than $24 billion by 2030 from around $11 billion currently, according to Allianz. Fire is the leading cause of loss severity for data centers, and accounts for over 50% of around 700 million euros worth of losses, the insurer says. ([email protected])