Asia’s Markets Bounce, Bitcoin Stumbles – Gold’s Gain Doubled in Weekly Loss!

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The Asian equities and precious metals, with the grace of a well-rehearsed farce, staged a recovery on Tuesday after their steepest two-day drop since April, while Bitcoin, that eternal optimist, continued its slow waltz toward irrelevance.

This divergence, a tale as old as time, mirrors late 2025’s grand exodus: traditional assets sip champagne while crypto sips lukewarm tea, hoping for a second date.

Asian Markets Post Strong Gains

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 2.2%, as if to say, “Yes, we remember how to breathe.” South Korea’s KOSPI led the region with a surge of over 5.63%, followed by Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 3.90% and India’s Sensex at 2.70%. One might think they discovered a new way to mine for electrons.

Index Price Change % Change
S. Korea: KOSPI 5,228.16 +278.49 +5.63%
Japan: Nikkei 225 54,709.86 +2,054.68 +3.90%
India: S&P BSE Sensex 83,868.90 +2,202.44 +2.70%
Australia: S&P/ASX 8,871.6 +93.0 +1.06%
China: Shanghai Composite 4,031.07 +15.32 +0.38%
Hong Kong: Hang Seng 26,830.50 +54.93 +0.21%

South Korea, which analysts have anointed “the world’s best-performing stock index,” rebounded after Monday’s plunge, while tech shares rallied like a choir of angels. Nasdaq 100 futures rose, perhaps out of pity for Palantir’s sales outlook.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite, now positive, gained 0.21% and 0.38% respectively, as if the entire region had collectively remembered how to function.

Gold and Silver Claw Back Losses

Gold, that old-world seductress, jumped 3.25% to $4,810 an ounce, while silver surged 8% to over $83, as if to say, “We’ll pretend last week never happened.” Precious metals had earlier soared to record highs amid geopolitical chaos and fears of currency debasement, only to be unceremoniously dumped by Chinese speculators.

Chinese buyers, undeterred, flocked to Shenzhen’s bullion market to stock up on gold jewelry and bars, likely for the Lunar New Year. Deutsche Bank remains bullish on gold hitting $6,000, while Pepperstone insists the foundations of its appeal remain “largely unchanged”-a phrase that might as well be a haiku.

Bitcoin Lags in Recovery

Bitcoin, trailing like a disgruntled relative at a family reunion, rebounded 4% over 24 hours to $78,899. Yet, weekly performance paints a darker portrait: a 12.1% drop, double gold’s 5.06%. The leading cryptocurrency’s journey from $92,000 to below $75,000 before a feeble recovery reads like a tragic opera.

This pattern, a familiar refrain since late 2025, saw Korean retail investors abandon crypto for equities as the KOSPI hit record highs. Crypto exchanges’ trading volume collapsed by 80%, while stocks surged 71.8%-a lesson in opportunity cost.

The divergence suggests crypto, like a guest who overstayed their welcome, struggles to match traditional assets in both recovery speed and magnitude.

What’s Next

Analysts, ever the optimists, caution against “catching falling knives” and warn of “dead-cat bounces.” Some argue the recent volatility is merely a “positioning shakeout,” a fancy way of saying, “We’re not sure what’s next, but it’s probably bad.” For Bitcoin, the question lingers: Will it ever learn to dance with the markets, or will it continue to trip over its own feet?

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2026-02-03 08:57