Trending tickers: Bitcoin | Greggs | Sainsbury’s | Tesla

SEC’s X account was hacked and a fake tweet was put out falsely saying that a Bitcoin ETF had been approved. (PETER PARKS via Getty Images)

Bitcoin (BTC-USD)

The price of bitcoin surged to nearly $48,000 (£37,728) Tuesday afternoon after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appeared to announce on X, that the regulator had granted approval for the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. However, it was all a hoax.

The price of bitcoin briefly spiked more than $1,000 after the post on X claimed: “The SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” Cryptocurrency investors had already driven bitcoin’s price above $46,000 in anticipation of the approval.

Read more: LIVE: FTSE and European stocks subdued after false SEC approval for Bitcoin ETFs

Moments later, SEC Chair Gary Gensler posted that "The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products."

The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

X confirmed the SEC’s account was compromised and said it was because of an “unidentified individual” obtaining control over a phone number associated with the agency’s account through a third party.

Bitcoin rallied immediately after the post, for a 1.5% gain on the day, but swiftly reversed on confirmation that the news was fake and the price slid as much as 2.5%.

Greggs (GRG.L)

Shares in Greggs surged over 7% as the high street bakery reported a 9.4% rise in like-for-like sales across its own-managed shops in the fourth quarter.

Greggs said it does not plan to hike prices over the year ahead, but is unlikely to be able to offer price cuts as rising wages keep costs under pressure.

The group said 2023 sales rose 19.6% to £1.81bn from £1.51bn the year before and with like-for-like sales growth of 13.7%.

Greggs revealed plans to open up to another 160 stores in the year ahead and cheered a strong end to 2023.

The group opened a record 220 new shops over 2023, with 33 closures and 42 relocations leaving it with 145 new sites on a net basis and taking its total estate to 2,473.

Greggs is set to open between 140 and 160 new shops on a net basis in 2024 as it looks to give customers more convenient access to its stores.

Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L)

Sainsbury’s backed its guidance for fiscal 2024 after reporting robust growth in grocery sales during the Christmas period.

The UK’s second largest supermarket chain said total retail sales, excluding fuel, grew by 4.9% over the six weeks to January 6, with grocery sales rising by 8.6%.

The chain said its customers bought record numbers of pigs in blankets, mince pies and sparkling wine over Christmas.

Sainbury’s said it continues to expect underlying pretax profit of between £670m and £700m.

Retail free cash flow for the fiscal year ending in March is expected to be at least £600m.

Read more: Cheapest supermarket of 2023 revealed

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “We enter 2024 with strong momentum and next month we will share our updated strategy, building on all we’ve done to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s over the last three years.

Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla shares were higher in premarket trading as the EV maker said Tuesday night that the updated Model 3 is now available in North America.

Last summer, Tesla introduced a new version of the Model 3, codenamed Highland, which featured a refreshed design, a new backseat screen, new ambient light, and more.

It was only being built at Gigafactory Shanghai and distributed in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

Shares in Elon Musk’s automaker have been under pressure this week following a Bloomberg report highlighting slowing electric vehicle demand in North America.

Watch: SEC chair denies a bitcoin ETF has been approved, says account on X was hacked

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