This is not a correlated market. The dollar is Up and Crude is Up which is not normal but 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 Higher which is correlated. Gold is trading Higher which is not 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 is trading Higher at the present time. Currently, Europe is trading Mixed.

Possible challenges to traders today

NFIB Small Business Index is out at 6 AM EST. This is Major.
Prelim Nonfarm Productivity q/q is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Prelim Unit Labor Costs q/q is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Mortgage Delinquencies. This is Major.

Treasuries

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

We've elected to switch gears a bit and show a 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 made its move at around 9:45 AM EST. The ZN hit a High at around that time and the S&P moved Higher. If you look at the charts below ZN gave a signal at around 9:45 AM EST and the S&P moved Higher at around the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. ZN hit a High at around 9:45 AM EST 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 10-year note, as a trader you could have netted about 25 ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $15.625. Please note: the front month for the ZN is now Sept '21. The S&P contract is also Sept '21. 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

ZN - Sept 2021 - 8/09/21

S&P - Sept 2021 - 8/09/21

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets a Neutral or Mixed bias as we saw no evidence of Market Correlation Monday morning. The markets didn't disappoint as the Dow traded lower by 107 points, the S&P traded 4 points Lower and the Nasdaq closed 24 points higher. Today we aren't dealing with a correlated market and our bias is to the Downside.

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

Commentary

Once again yesterday we witness Neutral or Mixed markets as Monday morning we saw no evidence of market correlation at all hence the Neutral or Mixed bias. Remember that a Mixed bias means the markets could go anywhere and they did. The good news was Jobs Openings handily beat expectations by coming in at 10.7 Million versus 9.27 Million expected. The Labor market is improving and gaining steam and this is always positive. Today we have preliminary Productivity and Unit Labor Costs. Given that these numbers are preliminary there is always greater weight associated with preliminary as opposed to revised.

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.