U.S. stock futures were largely flat Monday as traders paused for fresh clues from the Federal Reserve. Dow futures inched up about 57 points (0.13%), while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ticked 0.14% and 0.21% higher, reflecting a cautious mood after back-to-back winning weeks on Wall Street. Optimism that rate cuts are coming still lingers, even as recent inflation readings offer mixed signals.
Last week closed strong: the Dow rose 1.7%, the S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8%, marking the second straight week of gains for all three benchmarks. The S&P and Nasdaq have now posted four of five green weeks. Small-cap stocks led the advance, jumping more than 3% as bets on imminent Fed easing intensified despite inflation data pushing back.
The Fed’s trajectory is a key watch for crypto and DeFi markets: lower rates typically buoy risk assets like Bitcoin and large-cap altcoins and can compress yields in DeFi lending, while expectations of easing can drive rotation into smaller, higher-beta tokens. Reports also suggest South Korean retail flows are shifting away from big tech equity names and into Ethereum, underlining how regional sentiment can influence on-chain activity.
Asia-Pacific markets reacted to geopolitical developments after a U.S.-Russia summit ended with no ceasefire. Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a fresh all-time high at 43,683.56 and the Topix rose 0.53% on healthier tech sentiment. By contrast, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.25% and the Kosdaq dropped 1.52%, pressured by worries over regional earnings and softer demand from China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng nudged up 0.19% and mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.34%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 briefly touched an intra-day high of 8,960 before settling 0.14% higher.
What to watch:
- Fed commentary this week
- Incoming inflation and jobs data
- How rate expectations ripple through bitcoin, altcoins and DeFi liquidity as traders reassess risk assets
