US non-farm payrolls lower than expected, exacerbating concerns about economic slowdown, leading to a rise in government bonds and a Black Friday for the stock market. Cryptocurrencies also experienced a bloodbath, with BTC dropping to 61K and ETH falling below $3,000.
Yesterday, the US announced that non-farm payrolls in July only added 114,000 people, far below expectations, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3%. This has heightened concerns about economic slowdown, causing investors to worry that the Federal Reserve may need to take aggressive measures, such as a two-point interest rate cut in September, to save the economy. According to CME FedWatch data, the probability of a two-point interest rate cut in September is close to 70%, and there may be a five-point interest rate cut by the end of the year.
The yield on US 10-year government bonds reported 3.799%, dropping more than 17 basis points and reaching a low of 3.79% during the session, the lowest level since December 2023.
The panic index VIX surged, reaching nearly 30%, the highest since March last year. Major US stock indexes closed sharply lower on Friday (August 1st), with the Dow falling below 40,000 points, the S&P 500 down 1.84%, and the Nasdaq plummeting 2.43%.
Taiwan’s stock market also plummeted over a thousand points on Friday, marking the largest drop in history, with chip stocks being hit hard by Intel’s disappointing earnings.
Cryptocurrencies also faced a bloodbath, with a total liquidation amount of $270 million within 24 hours, mainly in long positions, with Bitcoin accounting for $82.88 million and Ethereum $73.75 million.
Bitcoin has been challenging the 70,000 level multiple times since March this year, but has been unable to sustain it for long. Yesterday, it dropped directly to 61K, forming a head pattern, with short-term support seen at the 60,000 integer level.
Ethereum also directly fell below the 3,000 level, once again repeating the “sell the news” trend after the launch of the Bitcoin spot ETF.
Ethereum
Bitcoin
US stocks
Non-farm payrolls