Following a solid bounce in the US, Asian stock markets traded mostly in positive territory on Friday, albeit finished another choppy week in a mixed tone. In Europe, equities see modest gains, with investors staying cautious as energy prices remain elevated after the recent rally while geopolitical tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict persist.
On the data front, the IFO business climate in Germany plunged to 90.8 in March versus last month's 98.5 and the consensus estimates of 94.2. In the accompanying statement, the institute highlighted that the economy faces uncertain times while the industry supply chain issues have worsened.
Still, the pan-European Stoxx 600 retained a bullish tone, adding more than 0.5% on the day. Wall Street stocks opened mostly higher, with risk-sensitive NASDAQ bucking the trend in early deals. Risk-on trades have abated somehow after a Russian negotiator at talks with Ukraine said the two sides have come closer together on secondary issues but are not moving forward on key ones.
Meanwhile, the US dollar trimmed intraday losses while staying shy of the 99.00 figure that represents the immediate key target for USD bulls at this stage. As geopolitical tensions keep rising globally and the Fed continues to send hawkish messages to the markets, the greenback looks set to resume the ascent following some consolidation, with the overall uptrend staying intact.
In other markets, the Bitcoin price rallied to the $45,000 figure for the first time since early March as crypto enthusiasts keep re-entering the game after a slide towards $37,000 earlier this month. However, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization may need some extra impetus to overcome the mentioned barrier strengthened by the descending 20-week SMA.
Should this moving average give up, the BTC/USD pair will target the $50,000 psychological level for the first time this year.