LONDON: US and European stocks mostly climbed, while the dollar rose and bitcoin extended a record run on Monday, as traders took their lead from events in the United States and China.

Chinese stock markets closed mixed and oil prices slid after China’s latest plans to stimulate its economy fell short of expectations.

Wall Street’s three main indices pushed solidly into record territory at the opening bell.

“Last week’s huge post-election rally hasn’t run out of gas yet,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

Stocks rallied last week on hopes that a second Donald Trump administration — supported by a Republican Congress — would push through a slew of business-friendly policies including deregulation and tax cuts, offsetting concerns about possible trade wars.

O’Hare said there were no new developments fuelling the rise.

“In effect, it is a carryover of the ‘old’ news of the election outcome powering an ongoing momentum trade and a fear of missing out on further gains,” he said.

But the S&P 500 trimmed its gains during morning trading and the Nasdaq Composite was essentially flat as European markets closed.

“If more rate cuts from the Fed continue to be what is expected, then we could see further positive sentiment in US stocks,” said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $84,000 Monday on optimism that Trump would ease regulations surrounding the cryptocurrency.

“We shouldn’t expect this bullish trend to be interrupted for a long time — about a year,” Stephane Ifrah, of French crypto asset management company Coinhouse, told AFP.

“The next level for me is $100,000.” European stocks saw solid gains.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2024