![\"Bitcoin\"](\"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bitcoin.jpg\")
The world\u2019s stock markets struggled for direction Thursday as investors paused for breath, while bitcoin spiked to a dizzying record above $15,000 on frenzied speculative buying, dealers said.\nParis stocks crept 0.2 higher and Frankfurt gained 0.4 percent, but London turned 0.4 percent lower.
\nWall Street rose modestly, with the Dow adding 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.7 percent. Analysts said investor sentiment was still hamstrung by coming political battles surrounding a US tax reform plan.
\nMuch focus, meanwhile, was on bitcoin which set a fresh record as investors\u2019 jaws dropped at the cryptocurrency\u2019s meteoric rise.
\nBitcoin, which is not traded on traditional currency market, powered to a fresh high of $15,969.99, before falling back according to Bloomberg data.
\nThe controversial virtual unit has soared more than 50 percent in just one week, but analysts warn that the snowballing rally could melt in the run-up to Christmas.
\n\u201cWhile the European stocks indices try and shake off yesterday\u2019s politically-driven bearish trading, bitcoin \u2014 seemingly unencumbered by anything in the real world \u2014 has continued its astonishing march,\u201d Spreadex trader Connor Campbell told AFP.
\n\u201cThe rolling wave of speculation has given bitcoin a huge amount of momentum, a snowball effect that may be melted when the cryptocurrency\u2019s futures are launched in a few weeks.\u201d
\n\u201cBitcoin is continuing to travel at break-neck speed,\u201d CMC Markets analyst David Madden told AFP.
\n\u201cThe alternative investment is proving to be very popular at a time when traditional assets like gold are under pressure,\u201d he added, noting the precious metal had touched a four-month low.
\nBitcoin received a major boost in October when exchange giant CME Group announced it would launch a futures marketplace for bitcoin, which has not been listed on a major bourse before.
\n\u201cBitcoin… has registered yet another milestone in its never-ending rally,\u201d added IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.
\n\u201cThere seems no end to the supply of willing buyers, with the endless progression of higher prices simply fueling the mania.\u201d
\nTokyo stocks rallied on Thursday after three days of losses, but regional Asian markets were dogged by political concerns, the latest being US President Donald Trump\u2019s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital.
\nAfter a blockbuster year for most global markets \u2014 helped by bets on Trump\u2019s promise to cut taxes and ramp up spending \u2014 geopolitical worries and dealers winding down for the year\u2019s end have put them on course for a painful December.
\nTrump\u2019s Jerusalem decision drew swift global condemnation and fanned fears about the overall prospects for stability in the Middle East.
\nThat followed news this week that one of the president\u2019s former close advisers had admitted lying to investigators in a probe into Russian meddling in the US election, bringing it closer to the White House.
\nElsewhere, Britain\u2019s struggles to hammer out a deal with the EU on the Irish border question have left Brexit talks in limbo, meaning the second phase of the negotiations \u2014 on trade \u2014 cannot yet go ahead.
\nLondon \u2014 FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,320.75 points (close)
\nFrankfurt \u2014 DAX 30: UP 0.4 percent at 13,045.15, (close)
\nParis \u2014 CAC 40: UP 0.2 at 5,383.86 (close)
\nEURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,567.50
\nNew York \u2014 DOW: UP 0.3 percent at 24,201.53
\nTokyo \u2014 Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 22,498.03 (close)
\nHong Kong \u2014 Hang Seng: UP 0.3 percent at 28,303.19 (close)
\nShanghai \u2014 Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,272.05 (close)
\nEuro\/dollar: UP at $1.1799 from $1.1795 at 2200 GMT
\nPound\/dollar: UP at $1.3421 from $1.3393
\nDollar\/yen: UP at 112.65 yen from 112.27 yen
\nOil \u2014 Brent North Sea: UP 75 cents at $61.97 per barrel
\nOil \u2014 West Texas Intermediate: UP 41 cents at $56.37<\/p>\n