Fed firing doesn't deter markets

USD: Sept '25 is Up at 98.550.
Energies: Oct '25 Crude is Up at 63.29.
Financials: The Sep '25 30 Year T-Bond is Lower by 7 ticks and trading at 114.00.
Indices: The Sep '25 S&P 500 emini ES contract is 18 ticks Higher and trading at 6487.00.
Gold: The Dec'25 Gold contract is trading Down at 3224,80.
Initial conclusion
This is not a correlated market. The USD is Up and Crude is Up which is not normal, but the 30 Year T-Bond is trading Lower. 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 Higher and Crude is trading Higher which is not correlated. Gold is trading Lower which is 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. All of Asia traded Mixed. Currently Europe is trading Mixed as well.
Possible challenges to traders
- Crude Oil Inventories is out at 10:30 AM EST. This is Major.
- FOMC Member Barkin Speaks - tentative. This is 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 climbed Higher at around 7:30 AM EST with no news pending. The Dow dived Lower at the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. The Dow dived Lower at around 7:30 AM EST and the ZT climbed 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 a dozen plus ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $6.25. Please note: the front month for ZT is now Sep '25 and the Dow is now Sep '25. I've changed the format to filled Candlesticks (not hollow) such that it may be more apparent and visible.
Charts courtesy of barCharts

ZT -Sep 25 - 8/26/25

Dow - Sep 2025- 8/26/25
Bias
Yesterday we gave the markets a Neutral bias, but the markets rose. The Dow gained 136 points, and the other indices gained ground as well. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market and out bias is to the Upside.
Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
Commentary
Well, El Presidente decided to fire another FOMC member. Not only did he fire one, he fired the only black female member. This didn't deter the markets as they rose yesterday.
Author

Nick Mastrandrea
Market Tea Leaves

















