Nick Mastrandrea
Market Tea Leaves
US Dollar: Dec USD is Down at 98.200.
Energies: Dec '19 Crude is Up at 57.50.
Financials: The Dec 30 year bond is Up 20 ticks and trading at 158.08.
Indices: The Dec S&P 500 emini ES contract is 19 ticks Lower and trading at 3090.75.
Gold: The Dec Gold contract is trading Up at 1470.00. Gold is 67 ticks Higher than its close.
Initial Conclusion
This is not a correlated market. The dollar is Down- and Crude is Up+ which is normal and the 30 year Bond is trading Higher. 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 Higher which is 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 this time Asia is trading mainly Lower with the exception of the Shanghai and Sensex exchanges which are trading Higher. Currently all of Europe is trading Lower.
Possible Challenges To Traders Today
PPI m/m is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Core PPI is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Unemployment Claims are out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
FOMC Member Clarida Speaks at 9:10 AM EST. This is Major.
FOMC Member Evans Speaks at 9:10 AM EST. This is Major.
Fed Chair Powell Testifies at 10 AM EST. This is Major.
Natural Gas Storage is out at 10:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Crude Oil Inventories is out at 11 AM EST. This is Major.
FOMC Member Williams Speaks at 12 noon EST. This is Major.
FOMC Member Bullard Speaks at 12:20 PM EST. Major.
Treasuries
We've elected to switch gears a bit and show correlation between the 30 year bond (ZB) 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 liken to a seesaw, when up goes up the other should go down and vice versa.
Yesterday the ZB made a major move at around 8:30 AM EST. The ZB hit a High at around that time and the S&P hit a Low. If you look at the charts below ZB gave a signal at around 8:30 AM EST and the S&P moved Higher at the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. ZB hit a High at around 8:30 AM and the S&P was moving Higher shortly thereafter. 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 Shorting opportunity on the 30 year bond, as a trader you could have netted about a dozen ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $31.25. Please note: the front month for the ZB is now December. The S&P contract is now at December as well and I've changed the format to Renko bars such that it may be more apparent and visible.
Charts Courtesy of MultiCharts built on an AMP platform
Bias
Yesterday we gave the markets a Downside bias as both the USD and the Bonds were pointed Higher yesterday morning and this usually represents a Downside day. Additionally there was a fear that the Administration may raise tariffs on goods imported from China. The markets however had other ideas as the Dow rose by 92 points, the S&P gained 2 but the Nasdaq fell by 4. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market and our bias is Neutral.
Could this change? Of Course. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
Commentary
Yesterday began the first day for the public impeachment hearings and up first were the Democrats who truly seemed to have all their facts in order. The GOP followed and claimed that everything they heard was hearsay and had no basis in truth. Well the Democrats will soon have a witness who did have direct contact with President Trump and who already testified on what was said and actions taken. Time will tell what (if any) impact this may have. The interesting thing is the markets didn't drop and in fact gained some ground. We'll have to see what happens in the days ahead.
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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