Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $83,000 after Tuesday's opening bell on Wall Street, as United States equities gained ground on stronger-than-expected third-quarter corporate earnings reports.

The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 1.5% intraday, joining a broad rally across US stock markets, while oil prices whipsawed after briefly trading above $100 per barrel early on Tuesday. The move pushed Bitcoin toward a challenge of its 21-day simple moving average (SMA), a short-term trend level near $83,230. Simple moving averages track the average closing price over a set number of days, and traders routinely use them to read short-term trend direction and flag potential support and resistance zones.

Earnings beats and oil swings drive markets

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD gaining 1.5% to reach its highest levels since Oct. 14 before dropping back toward $82,000.

Crypto joined US stock markets in rallying as third-quarter earnings reports beat expectations. Earnings season is one of the most closely watched stretches on the financial calendar, since company results offer a direct read on corporate health and often set the tone for risk appetite across asset classes. Both General Motors and industrial conglomerate 3M topped estimates, with 3M also raising its profit forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2% on the results to hit levels last seen on Sept. 14. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index traded up 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, at the time of writing.

Strong earnings helped mitigate the impact of a fresh oil-price uptick earlier in the day, which saw US WTI crude pass $100 per barrel for the first time since Sept. 17. WTI, however, fell precipitously around the start of the US trading session, dropping nearly 5% within hours to trade below $96. Crude is a standard inflation input, which is part of why swings in energy prices draw attention across equity and crypto desks alike.

US markets had already been sensing relief after last week's tech-focused sell-off, which spread to equities by Friday. In a note published on Monday, Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, wrote:

"Improving moods regarding the prospects of modern technology have Wall Street breathing sigh of relief as participants drop hedges, after the cost of volatility protection soared intraday on Friday, ahead of the intensifying selloff."

SpaceX is due to report third-quarter performance figures after the market close on Tuesday, with Tesla and Meta scheduled to follow on Wednesday — the next scheduled reads on corporate performance for market participants tracking whether the risk-on tone extends through the week.

Bitcoin rejected at 21-day moving average

Bitcoin's trip to $83,000 broke through a nearby wall of ask liquidity, data from CoinGlass showed. Crypto markets saw $125 million in short liquidations between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET. Liquidations occur when leveraged positions can no longer cover their margin requirements and are closed out by force — in this case, traders betting on lower prices who had to buy back as BTC climbed.

Related: XRP 30-day exchange inflows pass 6B tokens as whales move to the sidelines

At the same time, total open interest across crypto exchanges hit its highest levels since Oct. 8 at $53.86 billion, gaining around 2.1% over the previous 24 hours. Open interest measures the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts, making it a widely used gauge of how much capital is committed to the market.

In recent analysis, Keith Alan, cofounder of crypto trading platform Material Indicators, argued that a successful defense of the 50-day SMA, then located at $81,570, would serve as a key indicator of overall demand.

"So far, repeated defenses of the 50-Day show that buyers are still protecting this range," he commented in a post on X.

Alan noted that the 21-day SMA at $83,230 was now acting as low-time frame resistance.

Source: Cointelegraph