USD: Dec '24 is Up at 107.440.
Energies: Dec '24 Crude is Down at 69.55.
Financials: The Dec '24 30 Year T-Bond is Up 20 ticks and trading at 116.24.
Indices: The Dec '24 S&P 500 emini ES contract is 36 ticks Lower and trading at 5961.50.
Gold: The Dec'24 Gold contract is trading Up at 2702.10.
Initial conclusion
This is not a correlated market. The USD is Up and Crude is Down which is normal, and the 30 Year T-Bond is trading Higher. The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is Higher, then the bonds should follow and vice-versa. The S&P is Lower and Crude is trading Lower which is not correlated. Gold is trading Higher which is not correlated with the US dollar trading Up. I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one is up the other should be down. I point this out to you to make you aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is wrong. As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your eyes wide open. Asia traded Mixed with half the exchanges Higher and the other half Lower. Europe is trading Mixed as well.
Possible challenges to traders
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Flash Manufacturing PMI is out at 9:45 AM EST. This is Major.
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Flash Services PMI is out at 9:45 AM EST. This is Major.
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Revised UOM Consumer Sentiment is out at 10 AM EST. This is not Major.
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Revised UOM Inflation Expectations is out at 10 AM EST. This is not Major.
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FOMC Member Bowman Speaks at 6:15 PM EST. This is not Major.
Traders, please note that we've changed the Bond instrument from the 10 year (ZN) to the 2 year (ZT). They work exactly the same.
We've elected to switch gears a bit and show correlation between the 2-year Treasury notes (ZT) and the S&P futures contract. The YM contract is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the purpose is to show reverse correlation between the two instruments. Remember it's likened to a seesaw, when up goes up the other should go down and vice versa.
Yesterday the ZT migrated Higher at around 8:30 AM EST with no economic news pending. The Dow migrated Lower at the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. The Dow moved Lower at 8:30 AM and the ZT moved Higher at around the same time. These charts represent the newest version of Bar Charts, and I've changed the timeframe to a 15-minute chart to display better. This represented a Long opportunity on the 2-year note, as a trader you could have netted about 20 ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $7.625. Please note: the front month for ZT is Dec and the Dow is now Dec '24. I've changed the format to filled Candlesticks (not hollow) such that it may be more apparent and visible.
Charts courtesy of Barcharts
ZT -Dec 2024 - 11/21/24
Dow - Dec 2024- 11/21/24
Bias
Yesterday we gave the markets a Neutral or Mixed bias and the markets veered to the Upside with the Dow closing Higher by 462 points and the other indices traded Higher as well. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market, and our bias is to the Downside.
Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
Commentary
Yesterday we had a number of FOMC members speaking and one would think that perhaps they might move the markets to the downside, but this was not the case. The markets migrated to the Upside with the Dow closing Higher by 462 points and the other indices closed Higher as well. Today we are light on economic news as we have Flash Services and Manufacturing PMI.
Trading performance displayed herein is hypothetical. The following Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disclaimer should be noted.
Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown.
In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance trading results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight.
In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading. For example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect actual trading results.
There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results.
Trading in the commodities markets involves substantial risk and YOU CAN LOSE A LOT OF MONEY, and thus is not appropriate for everyone. You should carefully consider your financial condition before trading in these markets, and only risk capital should be used.
In addition, these markets are often liquid, making it difficult to execute orders at desired prices. Also, during periods of extreme volatility, trading in these markets may be halted due to so-called “circuit breakers” put in place by the CME to alleviate such volatility. In the event of a trading halt, it may be difficult or impossible to exit a losing position.
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Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data
Another sign of the good health of the US economy came in response to firm flash US Manufacturing and Services PMIs, which in turn reinforced further the already strong performance of the US Dollar, relegating EUR/USD to the 1.0400 neighbourhood on Friday.
GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar
Poor results from the UK docket kept the British pound on the back foot on Thursday, hovering around the low-1.2500s in a context of generalized weakness in the risk-linked galaxy vs. another outstanding day in the Greenback.
Gold keeps the bid bias unchanged near $2,700
Persistent safe haven demand continues to prop up the march north in Gold prices so far on Friday, hitting new two-week tops past the key $2,700 mark per troy ounce despite extra strength in the Greenback and mixed US yields.
Geopolitics back on the radar
Rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine caused renewed unease in the markets this week. Putin signed an amendment to Russian nuclear doctrine, which allows Russia to use nuclear weapons for retaliating against strikes carried out with conventional weapons.
Eurozone PMI sounds the alarm about growth once more
The composite PMI dropped from 50 to 48.1, once more stressing growth concerns for the eurozone. Hard data has actually come in better than expected recently – so ahead of the December meeting, the ECB has to figure out whether this is the PMI crying wolf or whether it should take this signal seriously. We think it’s the latter.
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