A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom

Westbrook

One bitcoin will now set you back six figures.

The cryptocurrency's break above the $100,000 milestone has

felt inevitable since Donald Trump's election as the next U.S.

president on a crypto-friendly platform. While it is just a

number, it highlights how cryptos have carved out a place in

modern financial markets.

Some commentators joked that perhaps a sales pitch from

children and grandchildren around the Thanksgiving table was

enough to get it past $100,000 - after investors in recent weeks

repeatedly flinched near that threshold - although the real

action came from big investors and big flows into new bitcoin

ETFs.

The breakthrough also correlates with strength in stocks and

the broader mood. Wall Street indexes made record highs on

Wednesday as confidence grew about U.S. rate cuts, while sharp

gains in German stocks seemed to defy the gloom

enveloping Europe.

A crisis in France deepened on Wednesday when the parliament

passed a no-confidence motion in the government for the first

time since 1962. Erstwhile centres of stability in Germany,

France, Japan and South Korea are now grappling with political

turmoil.

French bond futures were steady in Asia, as were

financial markets in South Korea, where a motion was introduced

in parliament to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over a botched

attempt at imposing martial law.

Broader unease over political upheavals is perhaps part of

the lure behind cryptocurrency investments, as is a desire to

hedge against some of the risks in traditional asset classes.

Politics aside, chief among data releases this week is

Friday's U.S. jobs report, where a strong reading could

challenge market expectations for interest rate cuts. European

retail sales data and German industrial orders will also be

closely watched.

Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:

- Fallout from France's no-confidence vote

- Eurozone retail sales

- German industrial orders