FOMC Minutes Take Center Stage as ADI Drive the Next Validation Round for AI Hardware | WEEX Weekly Market Preview (August 17-August 21, 2026)

Bitcoin pulled back from about $87,000 to about $84,000, with Ethereum near $2,680. S&P Global PMI on September 23 ET far exceeded forecasts. The 10-year yield broke above 5.00%, while the 5-year and 30-year touched highs last seen in 2007 and 2004. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped. Energy moved with oil and crypto-treasury stocks followed bitcoin lower. Investors await earnings from COST, BB, and others.

Global markets on September 23 focus on a Nasdaq high and an expansion of crypto futures. The Nasdaq closed higher on September 22 for a second straight closing high. Memory names such as Micron and SanDisk plus AI hardware lifted risk appetite. Brent eased to about $98 and WTI to about $94.6. Bitcoin was near $86,200 and Ethereum near $2,750. Investors are watching CME’s planned October 19 BCH/UNI futures and the impact of delayed compute-futures review on NVDA and CME.

Global markets on September 22 focus on a repair in AI-compute pricing. On September 21 the three major equity indexes closed higher. AMD rose nearly 10% and its market cap crossed $1 trillion for the first time, while Intel and Arm also surged. Brent crude fell about 3.4% to $100.34 and the 10-year Treasury yield eased to about 4.96%, lowering discount-rate pressure on long-duration tech. Bitcoin briefly broke above $87,000 and total crypto market cap returned above $3 trillion. Investors next watch consumer and housing earnings plus PMI flash prints.

WEEX Weekly Market Hotspot Preview focuses on activity data, policy-maker remarks, Flash PMI, a leaders’ summit, durable goods orders, final consumer sentiment readings, and earnings from Costco. The week’s core narrative centers on rate-path repricing, growth resilience, summit-driven risk premium, and consumer fundamentals.

Global markets enter the trading week of September 21, with core pricing still centered on the rate path after the Fed's 25 bps hike on September 16 to 3.75%–4.00%, as well as consumer and energy pricing. Bitcoin stands above roughly $81,000 and Ethereum has rebounded to about $2,630, suggesting that the rate hike and regulatory disruptions have been partially digested. NEAR is up about 19% in 24 hours, leading major coins. No blockbuster earnings are due on September 21 ET; investors turn to speeches from officials including Goolsbee, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, and consumer leaders such as AutoZone starting Tuesday and Costco on Thursday.

Global markets rebounded strongly on September 17 ET after digesting the hike. On September 16 ET the Fed raised rates 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%, and the dots showed 16 of 18 officials expect at least one more hike this year. The three major U.S. indexes all closed higher, led by chips and crypto treasury stocks. The same day, regulators launched an innovation exemption for tokenized stocks, lifting UNI, ONDO and Robinhood-chain names. Investors are watching October hike pricing.

Global markets re-priced after the September 16 ET Fed hike. The policy rate was raised 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%. Chair Walsh stressed that inflation remains high and another hike this year is possible. The three major U.S. indexes closed lower. Bitcoin traded $75,000–$76,500, gold fell, and crude stayed above $100 but declined on the day. Capital is focused on the hike path, after-hours housing guidance and a new high in privacy coin ZEC.

Global markets on September 16 are focused on the Fed rate decision. On September 15, the S&P 500 fell 0.45% to 7,585.73, the Nasdaq fell 0.78%, and the Dow fell 0.63% as the 10-year yield broke above 5% and Brent crude rose to about $109. The CLARITY procedural vote failed to clear the 60-vote threshold, sending bitcoin down to about $75,600 and Ethereum toward $2,400. Energy led with a gain of about 2.3%. Investors are waiting for the 14:00 ET policy statement and Walsh press conference on September 16.

Ahead of the September 14 open, global markets are focused on this week’s FOMC. After hotter-than-expected August inflation, odds of a September 16 hike rose above about 85%. Bitcoin broke below $77,000 to about $76,700–$76,800, with Ethereum near $2,500. In Friday’s session, communication services and industrials outperformed, while Apple closed up about 1.75%. CrowdStrike (CRWD) drew attention after unveiling AI-agent protection products at Fal.Con, and investors are also waiting for this week’s key CLARITY Act procedural vote and the rate decision.

Global markets on September 11 focus on August CPI. Brent crude holds $100–$107, the 10-year yield jumps first to about 4.94%, and hike odds are pushed to about 70%–74%. On September 10 ET the S&P 500 fell 0.58%, the Nasdaq 0.65% and the Dow 0.60%. Bitcoin broke below $77,000 and Ethereum slipped near $2,440; gold and silver also came under pressure. This is a liquidity squeeze, not an internal crypto blow-up. Apple shares recovered after its foldable launch, and AeroVironment bounced after hours on a beat.

On September 10, markets digested Apple’s product event and the oil breakout. Apple (AAPL) launched its first foldable iPhone Duo at $1,999, while the iPhone 18 Pro price rose by $100 to start at $1,199. The stock closed down about 0.3% at $315.34 on September 9 ET. Brent crude moved back above $100, all three major U.S. indexes closed lower, and energy was the only sector to post a gain of about 1.1%. Bitcoin remained capped by renewed hike pricing. Investors are now waiting for Adobe (ADBE) and Oracle (ORCL) earnings after the close on September 10 ET.

Global markets are focused on Apple’s fall product event, firmer energy prices, and the renewed valuation pressure on risk assets. Apple shares retreated ahead of the launch as investors weighed foldable-device pricing, on-device AI monetization, and potential sell-the-news volatility. Energy equities benefited from supply-risk repricing, which also reinforced sticky-inflation concerns and a higher-for-longer rates narrative. In crypto, bitcoin eased toward the mid-$78,000 range; although spot ETF inflows remain supportive, positioning has turned more defensive in the face of rising hike expectations. After the close, AeroVironment earnings and Apple’s product details could shape the next move across tech and thematic trades.

Markets are entering a new pricing window after the U.S. holiday close, with attention shifting squarely to this week’s catalysts. Stronger August payrolls revived expectations for a more restrictive Fed path and pushed yields higher, weighing on long-duration equities. In crypto, bitcoin eased below $80,000, but continued spot ETF inflows suggest institutional demand remains supportive at lower levels. At the same time, AI meme tokens materially outperformed the broader market, showing that speculative capital is still concentrating in high-beta thematic trades. Investors are now watching GME earnings, Oracle and Adobe results, and the upcoming PPI and CPI prints for the next repricing signal.

This week’s WEEX Weekly Market Hotspot Preview focuses on the September 7 Labor Day holiday, Crypto Expo Dubai 2026 on September 9-10, the U.S. August PPI and Oracle FY2027 Q1 earnings on September 10, and the U.S. August CPI plus the Deribit BTC/ETH weekly options expiry on September 11. The core market narrative centers on inflation repricing, validation of enterprise AI-cloud demand, the return of post-holiday liquidity, and a reassessment of short-term crypto volatility.

Global markets spent the weekend digesting last week’s payrolls data and crypto fund flows. August job growth of roughly 162,000 and a steady 4.1% unemployment rate pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to around 4.78%, reviving rate-hike pricing and weighing on technology and other long-duration assets. In crypto, bitcoin held near $80,000 as spot ETF inflows remained supportive, signaling that institutional risk appetite has not fully faded. At the same time, oil stayed firm on Middle East supply concerns, while gold consolidated at elevated levels. This week, attention turns to Oracle and Adobe earnings, as well as CPI, for the next repricing of the September Fed path.

Today’s market narrative was shaped by a recovery in crypto risk appetite and a deeper extension of the AI investment theme. Bitcoin moved back above $81,000 as macro pressure eased at the margin, while NVIDIA’s acquisition of Hugging Face underscored the strategic shift from compute dominance toward control of model ecosystems and developer access points. At the same time, results from Snowflake and Ciena reinforced that AI spending is spreading from semiconductors into software and network infrastructure. Near term, the August U.S. payrolls release is likely to be the key catalyst for rates expectations and valuation direction across growth assets.

This brief focuses on Robinhood Chain’s sustained on-chain trading momentum and its direct revenue contribution to the Arbitrum ecosystem, Microsoft’s move to improve transparency around Azure and AI infrastructure revenue, and Broadcom’s growing tension between strong AI semiconductor growth and rising market expectations. Investors are also turning their attention to the U.S. August nonfarm payrolls report and Ciena’s earnings as the next tests for the macro rate path and AI networking demand.

This brief focuses on institutional crypto allocation, U.S. manufacturing data, Dell earnings as a test of AI server demand, and Tesla’s autonomy-driven support for technology risk appetite. Since oil was already covered in yesterday’s brief, today’s report avoids repeating the crude-oil theme. NVIDIA, China technology shares, South Korean semiconductor exports and Broadcom’s market-highlight item have been removed, with Broadcom kept only in Today’s Preview.

This edition focuses on crypto fund flows, geopolitical risk, the AI supply chain and semiconductor capital expenditure. Bitcoin spot ETF flows turned negative, while oil prices moved back above $90 as U.S.-Iran tensions escalated. Marvell Technology beat earnings expectations, but the market remained concerned about the timing of large-order realization. SK Hynix is advancing its U.S. HBM advanced-packaging capacity, keeping the AI supply chain and energy risk premium at the center of market pricing.

NVIDIA’s strong results and higher guidance reinforced expectations for continued AI infrastructure spending, while Salesforce’s earnings supported a recovery in enterprise-software sentiment. Bitcoin remained range-bound at elevated levels, with AI meme and privacy-coin sectors leading gains. Semiconductor, crude-oil and natural-gas assets also rebounded, while Jackson Hole policy communication and upcoming Marvell Technology and Workday earnings remained the key catalysts.

Global markets focused on a strong rebound in crypto assets and upcoming U.S. technology earnings. Bitcoin peaked above $81,000 before consolidating at elevated levels, while Ethereum also advanced. Chinese meme tokens and the Layer-2 sector remained active. Technology and semiconductor stocks rebounded ahead of NVIDIA’s earnings, with investors assessing AI infrastructure demand, customer capital expenditure, and earnings conversion. Moderna’s vaccine progress and the decline in crude oil also created significant volatility across related sectors.

Global markets delivered mixed signals. Bitcoin and Ethereum strengthened as institutional flows into spot ETFs supported a recovery in crypto risk appetite, while the Robinhood ecosystem and NFT sector also remained active. In technology, NVIDIA continued to weaken ahead of its earnings release, with investors focused on AI returns, customer capital expenditure, and order execution. PDD Holdings saw significant volatility after reporting results, while Applied Optoelectronics came under pressure following its large equity financing announcement. Investors are also awaiting new rate-path signals from the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Global markets consolidated over the weekend. SanDisk benefited from strong AI data-center demand, long-term customer contracts, and improving expectations for the storage supply-demand balance. SpaceX-related names also performed well. Precious metals held near elevated levels, while Bitcoin moved toward $75,000 and continued to support crypto-financial stocks. Markets are now focused on Pinduoduo’s earnings and the impact of future rate expectations on technology and small-cap valuations.