Litecoin gains 27% as crypto markets continue to climb

Cryptocurrency market continues to rise

It has been another positive day for cryptocurrencies, as all top 10 cryptos registered gains. Bitcoin rose some 10% over the past 24 hours, closing in on the $10,000 milestone, while Ethereum and XRP gained more than 8% each. Litecoin continued its impressive run, gaining more than 27% over the past 24 hours. The recent gains are attributed to the upcoming Litecoin fork this Sunday, which could split the crypto into two: Litecoin and Litecoin Cash.

Today's highlights: Global markets seen higher

Wall Street gains continue: The Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all showed impressive gains yesterday. Both the Dow and S&P 500 have now erased all of their losses for 2018 and are positive for the year. The Nasdaq rose more than 1.8%, boosted by gains seen in big tech companies, such as Netflix, Amazon and Facebook.

Asia seen higher: Following Wall Street's lead, markets in the East were also trading higher this morning, as the Nikkei showed impressive gains of more than 1.2%. Markets in China are closed today, due to the celebration of the new lunar year.

Volatility expected for USD: The Producer Price Index report is due in the US at 13:30 GMT, potentially impacting the greenback.

Oil continues to climb: Following comments from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, saying the global production freeze will continue throughout 2018, the black gold showed gains of more than 1%.

NZD and AUD could be volatile today: The Business NZ Manufacturing Index report is due in New Zealand at 21:30 GMT. An hour later, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe will be testifying before the House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Economics. Both events could generate volatility for their respective currencies.

Europe opens higher: The FTSE opened 55 points higher, the DAX was up 86 points and the CAC opened 34 points higher.