The National Times - Bitcoin breaks $100,000; stocks diverge on France, S.Korea crises

Oil prices rose slightly with the OPEC cartel and its allies on Thursday expected to extend their supply cuts to avoid a sharp drop in prices in a global market awash with crude.

The dollar dropped against its main rivals.

On the corporate front, UK regulators approved a deal between Vodafone and Three to create Britain's biggest mobile phone operator.

Vodafone shares rose around 1.0 percent in London, while Shell dropped 1.0 percent after the British energy giant and Norway's Equinor announced plans to merge their UK offshore oil and gas assets.

"Bitcoin smashed through $100,000 as the Trump Trade powered on with force," noted Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, adding that "the French political crisis failed to knock European indices off course".

Seoul stocks slipped as South Korea's president faced impeachment after his brief imposition of martial law this week.

Bitcoin shattered the historic level after incoming US president Donald Trump picked crypto proponent Paul Atkins to take over as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the country's markets regulator.

Atkins is founder of risk consultancy firm Patomak Global Partners, whose clients include companies in the banking, trading and cryptocurrency industries.

Bitcoin reached a high of $103,800.45 before dipping to around $102,500.

- Paris gains -

The Paris stock market was higher in midday deals as President Emmanuel Macron sought a way out of France's political crisis.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was meeting Macron to submit his resignation after losing a vote of no confidence in parliament, with the president urgently seeking ways to halt growing political and financial chaos.

Poised to be contemporary France's shortest-serving premier, Barnier arrived at the Elysee Palace for the resignation formality.

A majority of lawmakers on Wednesday supported the no-confidence vote proposed by the hard left and backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen.

- South Korea -

All eyes were also on South Korea after Yoon Suk Yeol's dramatic declaration of martial law, which was lifted within hours.

The nation's opposition has now pushed for his impeachment, while the defence minister has resigned over the crisis.

Seoul's Kospi ended with a loss of 0.9 percent, having finished more than one percent down on Wednesday.

South Korea's currency -- which initially hit a two-year low when the crisis erupted -- remained at around 1,415 won per dollar, slightly up from its levels before the martial law declaration late on Tuesday.

The upheaval comes as Asia's number-four economy struggles to gain traction, while worries build on the possible impact of Trump's presidency as he prepares to reignite his hardball trade policy when he takes power next month.

But analysts saw some optimism.

"The silver lining we think is that the swift reversal of the martial law underscores the resilience of South Korea's institutions," said analysts at BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

"For now, we expect limited implications for the economy and financial markets as the Bank of Korea and the ministry of finance have responded swiftly by reassuring investors," they added.

- Key figures around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,339.51 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,324.69

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 20,306.16

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,395.60 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,560.44 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,368.37 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 45,014.04 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0528 from $1.0510 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2718 from $1.2702

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.28 yen from 150.56 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 82.78 from 82.71 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $72.62 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $68.81 per barrel

G.Waters--TNT