Cryptocurrencies slip while stocks bounce on red-hot jobs data

Cryptocurrencies erased gains while stocks bounced in pre-market trading Friday morning after jobs data came in far higher than expected. 

The US economy added 303,000 jobs in March, far surpassing the expected figure of 212,000, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed. February’s jobs numbers also surprised to the upside — the BLS reported that the economy added 275,000 jobs when economists had only expected 198,000. 

The unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in March, just shy of the 3.9% figure economists had called for. 

Bitcoin and ether dipped on the news, losing 1% and 3%, respectively, Friday morning in New York, according to Coinbase. Bitcoin ( BTC ) was holding around $66,200 at time of publication and ether ( ETH ) sat at the $3,250 level. 

Read more: ETFs helped ‘legitimize’ bitcoin ahead of halving: QA

The pullback comes after cryptocurrencies posted a mild rebound on Thursday. Bitcoin and ether, like stocks, have had a slow start to the second quarter of the year, losing around 6% and 10%, respectively, since the beginning of the month. 

Even after the release of the hotter-than-expected jobs report, stocks were inching higher during pre-market trading Friday. Dow and Nasdaq futures gained 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while SP 500 futures clocked a 0.3% gain. 

Strong economic data could lead central bankers to halt plans on rate cuts, officials have said. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari on Thursday spooked markets when he said the central bank may opt to not cut interest rates at all if inflation remains elevated and the economy continues to show signs of growth. 

Traders seem to be remembering that the jobs report is just one data point of many, and none are perfect. 

“We have to remember that the metrics only give a small glimpse at a blurry picture,” Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter, said.

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