This is not a correlated market. The USD is Down and Crude is Down which is not normal, and 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 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. Asia traded Higher except the Shanghai and Nikkei exchanges. Currently all of Europe is trading Higher.

Possible challenges to traders

FOMC Member Waller Speaks at 8 AM EST. This is Major.
Factory Orders are 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.

On Friday the ZT dived Lower at around 8:30 AM EST with various economic news numbers waiting. The Dow climbed Higher at around the same time. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. The ZT dived Lower at around 8:30 AM EST and the Dow 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 Short opportunity on the 2-year note, as a trader you could have netted about 30 plus ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $6.25. Please note: the front month for the ZT and YM are both Mar '26. 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 - 2/20/26

Dow - Mar 2026- 2/20/26

Bias

On Friday we gave the markets a Mixed bias which means the markets could go anywhere in any direction. As it turns out the Supreme Court shot down the "Liberation Day" tariffs from April as the president didn't obtain Congressional permission for these tariffs. The Dow gained 230 plus points and the other indices closed Higher. Today our bias is Mixed or Neutral.

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

Commentary

So, the president was shot down by the Supreme Court on Friday yest Trump claims that he could use other laws to enforce tariffs on foreign goods and claims he didn't need permission from Congress to do so. This is interesting as the State of the Union address is tomorrow and I wonder what he'll say. Want to learn Market Correlation and determine market direction hours before the Opening Bell?

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

EUR/USD rises to 1.1800 neighborhood amid renewed USD selling and trade uncertainties

The EUR/USD pair regains positive traction during the Asian session on Wednesday and jumps to the 1.1800 neighborhood in the last hour, reversing the previous day's modest losses. The intraday move up is sponsored by the emergence of fresh US Dollar, which continues to be weighed down by persistent trade-related uncertainties.

GBP/USD regains 1.3500 and above

GBP/USD extends its advance for the third day in a row on Tuesday, this time retesting the area beyond the 1.3500 hurdle. Cable’s uptick comes despite decent gains in the Greenback and the dovish message from the BoE’s Bailey at the UK Parliament.

Gold stays firm above $5,150 as Trump's delivers State of the Union speech

Gold finds fresh demand and regains the $5,150 level following the previous day's pullback from the monthly peak as traders assess Trump's State of the Union address. Trade-related uncertainties and geopolitical risks seem to act as a tailwind for the safe-haven bullion.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple post cautious recovery amid downside risks

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are posting a cautious recovery on Wednesday following a market correction earlier this week. BTC is approaching a key breakdown level, while ETH and XRP are rebounding from crucial support levels.

The Citrini report: How a debatable AI narrative can shake Wall Street

That AI-related headline alone was enough to rattle investors.US stocks slid sharply on Monday after a widely circulated Citrini Research memo outlined a hypothetical “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis”, warning that rapid AI adoption could push US unemployment into double digits as early as by mid-2028.

XRP pressured by weak ETF flows and declining retail interest

Ripple (XRP) is edging lower, trading above its intraday low of $1.32 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The decline from its weekly opening of $1.39 reflects heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, accentuated by tariff-triggered uncertainty.