This is not a correlated market. The dollar is Down, and Crude is Down which is not 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 correlated with the US dollar trading Down. 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. At the present time Asia is trading Higher with the exception of the Nikkei and Singapore exchanges. Currently all of Europe is trading Lower.

Possible challenges to traders today

Unemployment Claims is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Current Account is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
New Home Sales is out at 10 AM EST. This is Major.
Natural Gas Storage is out at 10:30 AM EST. This is Major.

Treasuries

Traders, please note that we've changed the Bond instrument from the 30 year (ZB) to the 10 year (ZN). They work exactly the same.

We've elected to switch gears a bit and show correlation between the 10-year bond (ZN) and the S&P futures contract. The S&P contract is the Standard and Poor's, 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 ZN hit a Low at around 10:30 AM EST but at the same time the S&P was going Lower. If you look at the charts below ZN gave a signal at around 10:30 AM and the S&P gave a signal at around the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. ZN hit a Low at around 10:30 AM and migrated Higher. These charts represent the newest version of MultiCharts and I've changed the timeframe to a 15-minute chart to display better. This represented a Long opportunity on the 10-year note, as a trader you could have netted about 60 plus ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $15.625. Please note: the front month for the ZN is now Jun '23. The S&P contract is also Jun' 23. I've changed the format to filled Candlesticks (not hollow) such that it may be more apparent and visible.

Charts courtesy of MultiCharts built on an AMP platform

ZN - Jun 2023 - 3/22/23

S&P - Jun 2023 - 3/22/23

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets a Neutral bias as is was FOMC Day and the markets have never shown any sense of normalcy on that day. The markets veered to the Downside as the Dow dropped 530 points and the other indices lost ground as well. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market and our bias is to the Upside.

Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.

Commentary

Yesterday as suggested the Federal Reserve raised the FFR (Federal Funds Rate) by 25 basis points to bring the total up to 5% even. Mind you this is what a bank pays the Fed to borrow funds, as consumers we will pay much more so the banks can profit off our need. The markets did not accept this news too well as the Dow dropped over 500 points by the time the closing bell hit. In a way we were lucky that they didn't raise by 50 basis points. Then the falloff would be more severe. Personally, I think it would have been better if the Fed had left the rates alone. This would have signaled a bottom to the markets and instead of falling, they would have veered higher. The Fed should be mindful of what they do because if they aren't careful, they could easily drive this economy into a ditch. If massive layoffs start happening, then consumer spending will dry up and the economy will be in a ditch. Today we have Unemployment Claims and New Home Sales. The New Home Sales number will be indicative of a strong economy. As in all things only time will tell.

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.