ASIA STOCKS STEADY, BLOOMBERG NEWS SAYS

Asian equities were steady Thursday after US stocks eased from all-time peaks as a drop in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. overshadowed strong bank earnings. Oil trimmed earlier gains, Emily Barrett reported for Bloomberg News.

Shares dipped in China and Hong Kong and were in the green in Japan and South Korea. US contracts fluctuated after a slide in technology shares pulled benchmarks off record levels. Coinbase traded down in its Nasdaq debut, and Bitcoin slid from an all-time high.

The S&P 500 Index edged down as traders tracked earnings from some of the world’s biggest banks, including revenue windfalls for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Even as Coinbase made its trading debut, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described cryptocurrencies as “vehicles for speculation” in comments to the Economic Club of Washington.

“No one is using them for payments, for example, like the dollar,” the Associated Press (AP) reported. And not all investors are buying into the Coinbase hype. David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs, said Coinbase has “little-to-no-chance of meeting the future profit expectations that are baked into its ridiculously high valuation.”

Trainer last week put a valuation on Coinbase closer to $18.9 billion, arguing it will face more competition as the cryptocurrency market matures. Coinbase said it had 56 million verified users as of March 31, with 6.1 million making transactions monthly. Trading volume in the first quarter was $335 million.

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE