U.S. stock markets opened lower this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 21.63 points, settling at 49,170.36—a modest 0.04 percent decline. The S&P 500 showed deeper weakness, sliding 27.18 points to 6,936.56, down 0.39 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq experienced the steepest pullback, losing 151.30 points and trading at 23,558.58, off 0.64 percent.

While these moves might seem incremental on the surface, they reflect broader market sentiment that often ripples into crypto and digital asset markets. Economic headwinds and equity market softness typically correlate with volatility across risk assets. For traders monitoring both traditional and digital markets, today's stock market action could signal underlying economic conditions worth watching closely.