This is not a correlated market. The dollar is Down- and Crude is Up+ which is normal and the 30 year Bond is trading Lower. The Financials should always correlate with the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow and vice-versa. The S&P is Lower and Crude is trading Up+ which is correlated. Gold is trading Up+ 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 this hour Asia is trading mainly Mixed with half the exchanges trading Higher and the other half Lower. Currently all of Europe is trading Higher.

Possible Challenges To Traders Today

Current Account is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is major.
Existing Home Sales is out at 10 AM EST. This is major.
Crude Oil Inventories is out at 10:30 AM EST. Major
FOMC Economic Projections is out at 2 PM EST. Major.
FOMC Statement is out at 2 PM EST. This is major.
Federal Funds Rate is out at 2 PM EST. This is major.
FOMC Press Conference starts at 2:30 PM. This is major.

Treasuries

We've elected to switch gears a bit and show correlation between the 30 year bond (ZB) and The YM futures contract. The YM contract is the DJIA and the purpose is to show reverse correlation between the two instruments. Remember it's liken to a seesaw, when up goes up the other should go down and vice versa.

Yesterday the ZB made it's move at around 10 AM. The ZB hit a Low at around that time and the YM hit a High. If you look at the charts below ZB gave a signal at around 10 AM EST and the YM was moving Lower at the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. ZB hit a Low at around 10 AM and the YM hit a High. These charts represent the newest version of MultiCharts and I've changed the timeframe to a 30 minute chart to display better. This represented a Long opportunity on the 30 year bond, as a trader you could have netted about 10 ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $31.25.

Charts Courtesy of MultiCharts built on an AMP platform.

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets a Neutral bias as half the instruments we track were trading Higher and the other half Lower with no clear trend or correlation. The Dow gained 116 points and the other indices gained ground as well. Given that today is FOMC Day we will maintain a Neutral bias.

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

Commentary

Today the major news will really start at 2 PM EST this afternoon when the FOMC makes its announcement. Given that there will be a press conference at 2:30 PM our take is the Fed will hike the FFR (Federal Funds Rate) often called the Overnight Rate which is the rate the Federal Reserve charges banks to borrow capital from them. The banks then add their override and what we pay in terms of an interest rate reflects that charge. We perceive that the Fed may hike rates once per quarter for a total of 4 rate hikes over the calendar year. This will tie in neatly with what has been predicted. Chief amongst their justifications is the booming job market but the other half of that coin is inflation which is nowhere to be seen. We'll have to see what happens during the press conference....

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.