©Reuters
By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com – Alibaba officially presents its own response to ChatGPT and Bitcoin surges above $30,000 for the first time since last summer amid US inflation data playing a big role, the IMF set to release its latest economic forecasts and oil prices continuing to rise expectations for one further decline in American inventories.
1. Futures rise with inflation in focus
US futures edged higher on Tuesday as investors appeared to be awaiting signals from the widely anticipated March inflation data release later this week.
At 03:42 ET (07:42 GMT), the contract was up 22 points, or 0.07%, up 5 points, or 0.11%, and up 16 points, or 0.12%.
Investors are bracing themselves for a range of key economic data including the latest and for the past month. The figures, to be released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, should provide some indication of the potential for an easing of the Federal Reserve’s recent monetary tightening campaign.
Meanwhile, some Fed regional presidents are scheduled to speak today. Philadelphia Fed Chairman, Minneapolis Fed Chairman and Chicago Fed Chairman Austan Goolsbee will all make appearances.
2. Bitcoin exceeds $30,000
climbed above $30,000 for the first time since June 2022 after a wave of turmoil in the banking sector caused many investors to shy away from traditional assets.
The leading digital token has been on the rise over the past month, with some traders viewing it as a safe haven amid concerns over financial industry stability.
Hopes that the country will also pull out of its cycle of aggressive rate hikes also bode well for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The sharp rise in the cost of borrowing took up more than two-thirds of the total crypto market cap over the past year.
Today’s gains, which take Bitcoin’s year-to-date rise to about 80%, have taken the total cryptocurrency market cap to $1.4 trillion.
3. Alibaba’s response to ChatGPT
China’s Alibaba (HK:) has entered the race to launch a new artificial intelligence-based chatbot similar to ChatGPT, while Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang seeks to capitalize on what he calls a “watershed moment” in global tech designated.
In a formal announcement at an event on Tuesday, the cloud unit of the sprawling e-commerce conglomerate gave no timeline for developing the product, which will be called Tongyi Qianwen. But companies across Alibaba, it said, will be able to use the chatbot in the “near future.”
Tongyi Qianwen will be able to process information in both Chinese and English and will be used in Alibaba’s DingTalk workplace communications software and Tmall Genie smart speaker.
Alibaba isn’t the first player from China’s burgeoning tech industry to try to create a rival for ChatGPT. Peers NetEase (HK:) and baidu (HK:) have also announced they will use generative AI that can learn from data to accurately duplicate human work.
4. New IMF growth forecasts
The International Monetary Fund is due to release its latest world economic outlook later today, followed by a presentation – and policy recommendations – from chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has previously warned that output will be sluggish over the next five years, with global economic growth projected to be around 3% a year – the weakest medium-term estimate since 1990 and well below the average of about 3.8% over the past two decades.
In a speech last week, Georgieva expressed concern about geopolitical tensions and the splitting up of major economies into rival trading blocs.
The road back to robust growth, she warned, is “rough and foggy.”
5. Oil Earnings ahead of US Crude Inventory data
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with traders eyeing expectations that inventories in the US — the world’s largest consumer of crude — will fall again.
As of 03:44 ET, futures were trading up 0.66% to $80.27 a barrel, while the contract was up 0.55% to $84.64.
The , an industry body, is due to release its weekly data on US crude inventories later in the session. The numbers are said to show there was another drop from last week’s drop of more than 4 million barrels.
Crude oil prices were also boosted this month by a surprise decision by OPEC and its allies to cut production by around 1.16 million barrels a day from May.
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