Nyheter
US and Europe Continue to Diverge
ETFS Multi-Asset Weekly US and Europe Continue to Diverge
Highlights
- Mild US weather outlook causes natural gas to plunge.
- Chinese equity markets extend rally.
- US Dollar strength likely to continue.
Cyclical assets are likely to experience an after-glow this week from the upside surprise in the US non-farm payrolls data on Friday. A raft of Chinese data including industrial production, retail sales and lending data out this week will provide investors a gauge for how well the economy is faring. We expect further monetary stimulus from the People’s Bank of China if the data disappoints, highlighting the determination to see yearly growth targets are met. The European Central Bank’s monthly report will be read with keen interest as investors look for easing cues after last week’s disappointing lack of action from the central bank.
Commodities
Mild US weather outlook causes natural gas to plunge. Natural gas last week declined -16.2% as reports of mild weather in December ignited speculation that heating demand in the US will be lower than normal. These expectations have been somewhat confirmed by the release of the EIA’s weekly natural gas storage update which contained news that drawdowns on working gas inventory was far lower than the consensus had estimated. Bearish sentiment continued within crude and distillate markets arising from deal struck between the Iraq and the Kurdish regional government after years of political impasse. The deal stipulated that the semi-autonomous Kurdish region would be designated to export 550,000 barrels a day through Iraq’s national oil company in exchange for 17% of Iraq’s national budget, adding further to the perceived over-supply of global oil markets.
Equities
Chinese equity markets extend rally. Momentum from last week’s strong gains in the Chinese stock market continued as the MSCI China A Index advanced 10.5%. This was driven by more investors piling into the Chinese equity market following the opening of the Hong Kong-Shanghai Connect and optimism over structural reforms and stimulatory monetary measures from the Chinese government and central bank. Conversely, European stocks were led downwards by banking shares following ECB governing council’s announcement that it would only consider full blown quantitative easing in early-2015, dashing hopes of the initiative being launched this month. This announcement comes as a sequence of weak economic data and downward revisions of ECB inflation and growth forecasts had prompted hopes of easing measures to take place this month. In response the FTSE MIB and DAX 30 declined -3.36% and -1.24% respectively.
Currencies
US Dollar strength likely to continue. The upside surprise in the US jobs report provided a sharp lift to the US Dollar against most currencies last week. Should we see strong growth in November US retail sales this week and a further deterioration in November Euro area industrial production, we are likely to see expected interest rate divergence become more pronounced and hence the Euro will continue to depreciate against the UD Dollar. Last week the ECB cut its growth forecasts and failed to deliver on full-blown quantitative easing before the year’s end. Its inaction increases the probability that the ECB will have to take more drastic measures to avoid deflation in the New Year. After the ‘no’ vote on the Swiss gold referendum provided relief for the Swiss National Bank, we believe the central bank will maintain the status.
Important Information
This communication has been issued and approved for the purpose of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by ETF Securities (UK) Limited (”ETFS UK”) which is authorised and regulated by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (”FCA”).
The impact of US tariffs continues to dominate market sentiment and risk assets, including crypto, struggled with this uncertainty throughout the month. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) fell 4.46% in March as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.63% and 7.61%, respectively.
Despite the macro uncertainty from Washington, US policymakers are continuing to embrace crypto in an unprecedented way, including launching a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, Digital Asset Stockpile, and engaging in expansive work at the regulatory agencies and in Congress.
Our team spent the last week of the month in Washington, meeting with regulators to share our experiences and views on what’s most important for crypto investors in the US. In his latest Notes from the CIO, Samir Kerbage shares what he learned from these meetings and how investors should be thinking about the new regulatory regime in the US.
As always, we are greatly appreciative of your trust in us and are here to answer any questions you may have.
-Your Partners at Hashdex
Market Review
March was marked by the tariff dispute triggered by the Trump administration. Back-and-forth fiscal policies, threats, and retaliations dominated the month’s agenda. The uncertain macroeconomic environment put investors into a defensive stance and negatively impacted crypto assets. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) closed the month down -4.46% after a period of high volatility. Major market indices, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, also recorded steep declines of -5.63% and -7.61%, respectively. These concurrent drawdowns across equities and crypto underscored March’s broad market caution, as trade war uncertainty prompted investors to flee risk assets.
During times of uncertainty, it is common to observe increased correlation among different classes of risk assets. This pattern played out in March: the 6-month rolling correlation of monthly returns between the NCI™ and the Nasdaq-100 surged to roughly 0.91 (see chart below), its highest level since 2021, indicating that crypto assets were moving almost in lockstep with tech stocks. This spike in correlation confirms that crypto was behaving like a high-beta extension of the tech sector—an amplified version of the Nasdaq-100. The lack of clarity in the global landscape leads investors to reduce their risk exposure and seek protection, a movement known in financial markets as “risk-off” allocation.
6-Month Rolling Correlation of Monthly Returns between the Nasdaq Crypto Index and Nasdaq-100 (Apr 2021–Apr 2025).
The chart illustrates how this correlation has been increasing since the American elections in November 2024 and spiked to approximately 0.91 in the most recent period—a multi-year high. This visual evidence reinforces the view that crypto assets have been moving closely in tandem with tech stocks, effectively acting as a high-beta version of the Nasdaq-100 during the March risk-off phase.
Following this trend, risk reduction was evident within the crypto asset class. Among the NCI’s constituents, Bitcoin (BTC) posted a decline of -1.93%, withstanding the downturn far better than other constituents such as Ether (ETH, -17.4%) and Litecoin (LTC, -34.6%). BTC’s relatively mild drop in this sell-off aligns with the idea that it increasingly trades like a high-beta proxy for large-cap tech. It still declined, but less severely, whereas smaller-cap crypto assets behaved more like speculative growth stocks and suffered outsized losses. The only exception to the negative results was Cardano (ADA), which surprised with a positive return of 3.88% despite no significant protocol developments during the month.
Thematic indices also faced a challenging environment. As highlighted in previous letters, smaller capitalization assets tend to suffer more during periods of market stress, mirroring how speculative small-cap stocks are hit hardest in equity sell-offs. The biggest negative highlight was the Digital Culture Index, which dropped -17.45%, followed by the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Smart Contract Platform (Web3) indices, which fell -16.73% and -12.07%, respectively. The Vinter Hashdex Risk Parity Momentum Index recorded a negative result of -8.26% but outperformed the three other thematic indices, benefiting from its high allocation in BTC and TRX (which gained 4.68%). The heavy weighting in BTC – the more resilient large-cap crypto – helped cushion this index, underscoring the relevance of the momentum factor in a well-diversified strategy during times of market stress.
The market remains on the lookout for the outcome of the fiscal policy discussions, hoping for a reduction in uncertainties and an end to the tariff war. That would likely mark the moment when investors regain their appetite for risk assets, including crypto assets. The U.S. government has also signaled interest in advancing the crypto agenda, a development that could drive the asset class to a new level of adoption. We remain confident in our positive outlook for the rest of the year and the long term.
Top Stories
US creates Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
The Bitcoin Reserve will be capitalized with BTC owned by the Department of Treasury, which could further increase via new budget-neutral acquisitions. The stockpile will also include assets owned by the Treasury. This marks a major milestone, with the US government starting to integrate major crypto assets and continues the new administration’s work to lead the global crypto economy.
Stablecoins surpass $230 billion in market value
The total stablecoins market capitalization surpassed $230 billion amid institutional demand for dollar-backed digital assets. This showcases one of the most successful applications for crypto technology enhancing traditional financial payments. It could also pave the way for new use cases that require a strong and reliable global payment system.
FDIC eases banks’ ability to engage in crypto activities
The FDIC has rescinded previous guidelines which prevented financial institutions from engaging with crypto activities without prior sign-off. By removing bureaucratic hurdles, banks may more readily over crypto-related services, potentially leading to broader adoption and integration of digital assets into the financial system.
Spotlight on the tariff war
BSE8 ETF ger exponering mot företagsobligationer med förfall under 2028
En vecka för historieböckerna…
VGCF ETF investerar i korta företagsobligationer denominerade i euro
CBUV ETF satsar på Metaverse
Fonder som ger exponering mot försvarsindustrin
WisdomTree lanserar europeisk försvarsfond.
Warren Buffetts råd om vad man ska göra när börsen kraschar
De bästa börshandlade fonderna för tyska utdelningsaktier
Trumps återkomst får europeiska aktier att rusa
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanFonder som ger exponering mot försvarsindustrin
-
Nyheter4 veckor sedanWisdomTree lanserar europeisk försvarsfond.
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanWarren Buffetts råd om vad man ska göra när börsen kraschar
-
Nyheter3 veckor sedanDe bästa börshandlade fonderna för tyska utdelningsaktier
-
Nyheter4 veckor sedanTrumps återkomst får europeiska aktier att rusa
-
Nyheter5 dagar sedanSvenskarna har en ny favorit-ETF
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanHANetf lanserar Europa-fokuserad försvars-ETF
-
Nyheter2 veckor sedanEn av de mest nedladdade finansapparna i Sverige
