BroadChain News, April 28 - On the macro front, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio warned that the US has entered a stagflation phase, with inflationary pressures far exceeding targets and more urgent than expected. He noted that if Vice Chairman Barr succeeds Powell as Fed Chair in mid-May and chooses to cut interest rates, it could undermine market confidence in the Fed. Stagflation concerns are prompting investors to adopt a cautious stance on monetary policy shifts, potentially limiting the upside for risk assets in the short term while boosting demand for precious metals as safe-haven tools.
On the geopolitical front, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that the US has requested negotiations, and Iran is considering it; US Secretary of State Rubio said Iran's strict conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz are "unacceptable." The White House confirmed that Trump's national security team met on Monday to discuss related proposals, with reports indicating Trump himself is dissatisfied with Iran's latest offer. As a key global oil transport route, uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz directly pushes up the risk premium on crude oil, supporting higher oil prices and boosting energy stocks, while exacerbating supply chain inflationary pressures globally.
In market performance, the three major US stock indexes were mixed: the Dow fell 0.13% to 49,168 points, the S&P 500 rose 0.12% to a record 7,174 points, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2% to a record 24,887 points. Most tech giants gained, with Nvidia up 4.01% to a market cap exceeding $5.2 trillion, Amazon up 3.49%, and Microsoft up 2.13%. Memory chip stocks led gains, with SanDisk up 8.11%, Micron Technology up 5.6%, and Seagate Technology up 1.64%, all hitting record highs, driven by AI demand for next-generation storage products like DDR5. Rare earth stocks surged, with Critical Metals up 25.54%. However, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1%, ending an 18-day winning streak.
The cryptocurrency market faced pressure, with BTC down about 1.8% in 24 hours to $77,463, ETH down about 2.7% to $2,310, and total market cap down about 2.1% to $2.66 trillion. Liquidations in 24 hours totaled about $396 million, with long liquidations at $277 million. BTC spot ETFs saw net outflows of about $263 million yesterday, while ETH spot ETFs saw net outflows of about $48.4 million. The Bitget BTC/USDT liquidation chart shows the current price around $77,300, with a dense short liquidation zone between $77,500 and $79,000. The short-term direction favors further upside testing above $78,000, but failure to hold $77,000 could trigger a cascade of long liquidations.