(Bloomberg) — US equity futures pointed to small gains at the Wall Street open as traders await fresh signs on the scope for further easing after last week’s jumbo interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

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Contracts on the S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher, trading in a narrow range ahead of comments from Fed officials on Monday. Among individual movers, shares of Intel Corp. gained as much as 5% in premarket after Apollo Global Management Inc. was said to have offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in the chipmaker.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said that starting the central bank’s cutting cycle with a large step would help bring interest rates closer to neutral levels, but officials should not commit to a cadence of outsize moves. Further out this week, investors await the Fed’s preferred price metric and data on US personal spending, due on Friday.

The US dollar traded flat, while policy-sensitive two-year Treasury yields edged lower.

In Europe, meanwhile, traders were digesting manufacturing data that came in worse than expected, spurring wagers on more aggressive rate cuts from the European Central Bank. The euro slumped and German yields fell, reflecting concerns that the region’s economic recovery has hit a wall.

European stocks edged higher, with so-called defensive plays in the food, telecoms, real estate and utilities sectors faring best. Weak PMI data for France and Germany on Monday was followed by numbers that showed the euro-area’s private-sector economy shrank for the first time since March.

“The market is almost demanding a more aggressive rate cut, especially after what we have seen the Fed has done,” Marija Veitmane, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street, said on Bloomberg TV. The ECB “is definitely behind the curve,” she said.

The common currency weakened as much as 0.7% against the dollar, heading for its steepest daily decline since June. The gap between French and German benchmark yields climbed to the highest level since early August, showing that investors remain on edge over France’s political and fiscal challenges.

A new French cabinet named late Saturday is a patchwork of conservatives and centrists who haven’t always worked smoothly together, and opposition blocs in parliament are threatening no-confidence votes that could topple the government. Investors are concerned that were the government to collapse, it would jeopardize the administration’s ability to pass a budget through parliament over the coming weeks.

Corporate Highlights:

Apollo Global Management Inc. has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would be a vote of confidence in the chipmaker’s turnaround strategy. Intel’s shares rose about 2% in premarket trading.

StandardAero Inc. is seeking to raise $1.1 billion in its initial public offering, after its backer Carlyle Group Inc. had decided to pursue a listing for the aircraft maintenance services provider rather than a sale.

Rightmove Plc shares rise as much as 5.3% after Australia’s REA Group made a third cash and share offer for the UK property portal.

BNP Paribas SA agreed to buy HSBC Holdings Plc private banking operations in Germany, as the French lender seeks a bigger slice of the nation’s growing market for wealth management.

US billionaire Dan Friedkin is closing in on a takeover of Everton FC, the Premier League team that has been struggling to find a buyer, according to people familiar with the situation.

Swedish battery maker Northvolt AB will shed 20% of its headcount globally and suspend the expansion of its main factory in Northern Sweden to stem a financing crunch as electric-vehicle demand slows.

Elsewhere, Asian markets were lifted by speculation China is close to announcing fresh stimulus, after a cut to a short-term policy rate and a rare economic briefing scheduled for Tuesday.

“The start of the Fed easing cycle should lead to more stimulus from China, particularly as the 5% growth target seems difficult to achieve,” Mohit Kumar, chief strategist and economist for Europe at Jefferies International Ltd., wrote in a note. The “stimulus measures should also be beneficial for Europe.”

Gold touched a record high earlier before paring the move, as the worsening strife in the Middle East fueled wagers on further price gains in the metal due to its haven status.

Key events this week:

• Australia rate decision, Tuesday

• Japan Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI, Services PMI, Tuesday

• Mexico CPI, Tuesday

• Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks, Tuesday

• Australia CPI, Wednesday

• China medium-term lending facility rate, Wednesday

• Sweden rate decision, Wednesday

• Switzerland rate decision, Thursday

• ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, Thursday

• US jobless claims, durable goods, revised GDP, Thursday

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives pre-recorded remarks to the 10th annual US Treasury Market Conference, Thursday

• Mexico rate decision, Thursday

• Japan Tokyo CPI, Friday

• China industrial profits, Friday

• Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday

• US PCE, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 8:10 a.m. New York time

• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3%

• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%

• The MSCI World Index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1118

• The British pound was little changed at $1.3313

• The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 143.55 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $63,416.53

• Ether rose 2.7% to $2,643.37

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.75%

• Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.17%

• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.91%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $71.45 a barrel

• Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,625.17 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Catherine Bosley and Alice Gledhill.

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