Litecoin is the standout as the trading day opens, up 16.24% to $71.81 and now 42.31% higher on the month. The move sits at the top of a broad rally across the smaller tokens, even as the two crypto majors barely budge.
Crypto
Behind Litecoin, the gains are wide. LNKUSD rose 7.23% to $13.24, Stellar added 6.56% to $0.21499, and Polkadot climbed 6.38% to $1.168, extending its month to +33.79%. GRTUSD tacked on 5.26%, Cardano 4.46% to $0.2484, and Dogecoin 3.68% to $0.0959. XRP is up 2.57% to $1.5384 and 10.26% over the week.
The contrast at the top of the market is stark. Bitcoin is effectively flat, up 0.03% at $84,399.23, and Ethereum has added just 0.16% to $2,687.90. The only decliner of note is UNIUSD, down 0.98% to $9.146 β though it still carries a 108.77% month.
Currencies
The dollar opens firmer against the commodity currencies and the yen. USDJPY is up 0.34% to 158.80, extending a 1.23% weekly gain, while USDMXN leads the majors at +0.88% to 17.694 and +2.73% on the week.
The antipodeans lag. AUDUSD is off 0.31% to 0.70104 and down 1.59% on the week; NZDUSD has slipped 0.47% to 0.56471 and 5.03% on the month. EURUSD is close to unchanged at 1.1375 but 2.4% lower over the month, and GBPUSD eased 0.19% to 1.32119. The rand bucked the trend, with USDZAR down 0.59% to 16.264.
Commodities and metals
Crude is the firmest corner outside crypto. USOil rose 2.64% to $93.95 and UKOil 2.04% to $100.66, leaving both roughly 15% to 17% higher on the month.
The metals slipped. Silver fell 0.69% to $63.84, and gold eased 0.35% to $4,273.85 β both now down more than 7% on the month, though gold still holds a 14.13% year. Platinum edged up 0.17% to $1,759.06 while palladium was unchanged at $1,261.35.
Equity indices open on the back foot: the Nikkei 225 led lower at -0.53%, the Dow slipped 0.31%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are barely changed β the Nasdaq still sitting on a 2.64% weekly gain. Crypto’s smaller tokens are the session’s clear leaders, while Bitcoin and Ethereum stay pinned.
