The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged down while the Dow notched a fresh record high as investors digested disappointing retail sales figures and waited for a key labor market report. The S&P 500 communication services sector was weighed down by a 1.5% drop in Alphabet shares.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs extended a tentative rebound with fresh $145 million inflow on Monday, after attracting $371 million in net inflows last Friday, adding to signs that institutional demand may be stabilizing following weeks of sustained selling, as BTC hovered around $70,000
U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in December as households scaled back spending on motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, potentially setting consumer spending and the economy on a slower growth path heading into the new year.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public holder of Bitcoin, added another tranche of BTC last week, expanding its holdings without pushing its overall cost basis lower. Strategy acquired 1,142 Bitcoin for $90 million last week, according to a US SEC filing.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained after a shaky start of the week, as technology stocks found their footing following last week’s AI-sparked selloff, while investors waited for key economic data that could shed light on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path.
Alphabet is looking to raise about $15 billion from a U.S. high-grade dollar bond sale. Technology firms are turning to debt sales worth tens of billions of dollars to fund infrastructure expansions as demand for artificial intelligence workloads surges.
