Futures started off the week on the wrong foot, sliding overnight from Friday’s record high before recovering some losses as Chinese stocks crashed on multiple parallel crackdowns by Beijing (more on this shortly), souring global bullish sentiment while cryptos exploded higher further kicking Keynesian apes in the groin. All of this is happening ahead of the busiest week of Q2 earnings season and Thursday’s FOMC meeting, while a majority of traders are rushing to catch some rays ahead of the next round of covid lockdowns/vote-purchasing stimmies. S&P 500 E-minis were down 11.00 points, or 0.25%, at 715 a.m. ET. Dow E-minis were down 131 points, or 0.37%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 21.75 points, or 0.14%. Treasuries pushed higher, with the 10-year real yield hitting a record-low -1.127%. The dollar fluctuated and oil declined below $72 a barrel.

The culprit for the risk off was China and HK, where shares tumbled amid a selloff in education tech companies after Beijing announced sweeping reforms of the industry, souring sentiment at the start of a week packed with tech earnings. China last week announced sweeping new rules on private tutoring and online education firms, the latest in a series of crackdowns on the technology sector that have roiled financial markets this year. E-commerce major Alibaba Group and search engine Baidu Inc, two of the largest listed Chinese stocks in the United States, slipped 4.2% and 4.6% in premarket trade, respectively. Ride-sharing app Didi Global, whose takedown earlier in July had brought Chinese regulations back into the spotlight, sank 14.0%. Here are some of the biggest U.S. movers today:

Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks surge after a weekend rally for Bitcoin extended, with the token now trading around $38,000 and coming close to hitting the $40,000 level. Riot Blockchain (RIOT) jumps 19% and Marathon Digital (MARA) rallies 19%, while Bit Digital (BTBT) climbs 15%.

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