Bitcoin, crypto prices trade lower, while some suggest stocks might be overvalued

Quick Take

  • Bitcoin was trading around $24,400, down 1.3% over the past few hours. 
  • Banking worries have picked up again, with European banks now coming under increased scrutiny.
  • Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders, says one metric suggests stocks might be overvalued. 

Crypto prices slipped on Wednesday as banking worries persisted and some analysts suggested stocks could be overvalued. 

Bitcoin was trading at around $24,400 by 12:30 p.m. EDT, down about 1.3% over the past few hours, according to TradingView data. Ether dipped about 2% to $1,650. 

Taking a beat?

"U.S. markets are beginning to price a higher probability of a Fed pause as sentiment deteriorates," the GSR analysts said, adding that "lower-than-expected retail sales and PPI releases provide increased flexibility for the Fed to potentially pause at next week's FOMC."

The Fed will announce its latest interest rate decision a week from today, with the market now pricing in a near 58% probability of a pause. 

RELATED INDICES

FedWatch, the CME's tool, analyzes the probability of changes to the Fed rate using 30-Day Fed Funds futures pricing data, now shows a 57.9% probability of a pause — up from about 30% yesterday. 

Rule of 20

Charles Schwab's chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders, says the Rule of 20 suggests stocks might be overvalued.

The rule says if the S&P 500 price-earnings ratio and CPI year-on-year equal 20, markets may be fairly valued.

The S&P 500 P/E is currently around 20.65, according to Multpl data, while year-on-year inflation came in at 6% in February — suggesting markets are overvalued.


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About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.

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