This is not a correlated market. The USD is Down and Crude is Down which is not normal, but 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 Lower which is not 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. Asia traded Lower except the Singapore exchange. Currently all of Europe is trading Higher.

Possible challenges to traders

Average Hourly Earnings is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Core Retail Sales m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Retail Sales m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Non-farm Employment Change is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Unemployment Rate is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Flash Manufacturing PMI is out at 9:45 AM EST. This is Major.
Flash Services PMI is out at 9:45 AM EST. This is Major.
Business Inventories m/m is out at 10 AM EST. 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 8:30 AM EST with no major news items pending. The Dow dived Lower at around the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. The ZT climbed Higher at around 8:30 AM EST and the Dow dived Lower 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 $6.25. Please note: the front month for ZT is now Mar '26 and the Dow is still Dec '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 -Mar 26 - 12/15/25

Dow - Dec 2025- 12/15/25

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets an Upside bias, but the markets had other ideas. By the end of the session the indices all dived into negative territory. Given that Job numbers will be reported today, our bias is Neutral or Mixed, as it would be for any Jobs Friday report. Difference is today isn't a Friday.

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

Commentary

Today we have Job Numbers being reported for November 2025 due to the government shutdown we haven't received a full Jobs Report for months now. Want to learn Market Correlation and determine market direction hours before the Opening Bell?

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

Markets move fast. We move first.

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Editor's Picks

EUR/USD climbs toward 1.1800 on broad USD weakness

EUR/USD gathers bullish momentum and advances toward 1.1800 in the second half of the day on Tuesday. The US Dollar weakens and helps the pair stretch higher after the employment report showed that Nonfarm Payrolls declined by 105,000 in October before rising by 64,000 in November.

GBP/USD climbs to fresh two-month high above 1.3400

GBP/USD gains traction in the American session and trades at its highest level since mid-October above 1.3430. The British Pound benefits from upbeat PMI data, while the US Dollar struggles to find demand following the mixed employment figures and weaker-than-forecast PMI prints, allowing the pair to march north.

Gold extends its consolidative phase around $4,300

Gold trades in positive above $4,300 after spending the first half of the day under bearish pressure. XAU/USD capitalizes on renewed USD weakness after the jobs report showed that the Unemployment Rate climbed to 4.6% in November and the PMI data revealed a loss of growth momentum in the private sector in December.

US Retail Sales virtually unchanged at $732.6 billion in October

Retail Sales in the United States were virtually unchanged at $732.6 billion in October, the US Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. This print followed the 0.1% increase (revised from 0.3%) recorded in September and came in below the market expectation of +0.1%.

Ukraine-Russia in the spotlight once again

Since the start of the week, gold’s price has moved lower, but has yet to erase the gains made last week. In today’s report we intend to focus on the newest round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, whilst noting the release of the US Employment data later on day and end our report with an update in regards to the tensions brewing in Venezuela.

BNB Price Forecast: BNB slips below $855 as bearish on-chain signals and momentum indicators turn negative

BNB, formerly known as Binance Coin, continues to trade down around $855 at the time of writing on Tuesday, after a slight decline the previous day. Bearish sentiment further strengthens as BNB’s on-chain and derivatives data show rising retail activity.

Initial conclusion