Tonight’s Highlights | European Leaders ‘Group Visit’ to White House, U.S. Stock Futures Maintain Weak Oscillations
Amid the uncertainties unfolding this week, U.S. stock futures held a weak oscillatory trend in pre-market trading.
As of press time, Nasdaq 100 futures (2409 contract) fell 0.08%, S&P 500 futures dropped 0.05%, and Dow futures rose 0.02%. Since last Wednesday, the S&P 500’s daily movement has been limited to around 0.3%.
The biggest highlight tonight is naturally the return of Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House after six months.
Unlike six months ago, this time it’s a “group visit” by European leaders. As before, Zelensky and Trump still exhibit clear differences on issues like “ceasefire first or direct peace talks” and “ceding territory for security guarantees.”
According to the White House schedule, Trump will first meet with Zelensky, followed by a collective meeting with the visiting European leaders.
Besides Zelensky, today’s White House visitors include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, with whom Trump has a close personal relationship.
Trump remarked, “The White House has never hosted so many European leaders at once.”
Setting geopolitics aside, the U.S. stock market this week will see a slew of American retailer earnings reports, marking the close of the Q2 earnings season. More importantly, the week features the release of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak during Friday’s trading session.
In recent days, the cryptocurrency market, which has significantly influenced U.S. stocks, continued its correction on Monday. Bitcoin, which hit a new high last week, dropped over 2% intraday, while Ethereum fell nearly 4%. Consequently, “crypto treasury” stocks like Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), Sharplink Gaming, and Strategy weakened in pre-market trading.
(Ethereum daily chart, Source: TradingView)
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