Stocks Start 2024 Mixed as Investors Eye Rates, Geopolitics
• Stock markets mixed on first trading day of 2024 after strong rally in 2022 fueled by hopes of interest rate cuts • Bitcoin and oil prices moved higher amid new attacks in Red Sea and prospects of bitcoin ETF approval • China's economy remains weak based on latest manufacturing data, weighing on Chinese stocks • Global stocks rallied in 2023 on fading inflation and growth fears, though investors soured on China • Investors welcome 2024 with optimism about artificial intelligence returns and central bank rate cuts