This is not a correlated market. The USD is Up, and Crude is Down which is normal, but the 30 Year T-Bond is trading Lower. 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 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. At the present time Asia is trading Mixed with half the exchanges Higher and the other half Lower. Currently Europe is trading mainly Lower with only the London and Spanish Ibex Higher. .

Possible challenges to traders today

ADP Non-Farm Employment Change is out at 8:15 AM EST. This is Major.
Trade Balance is out at 8:30 AM EST. This is Major.
Final Services PMI is out at 9:45 AM EST. This is Major.
ISM Services PMI is out at 10 AM EST. This is Major.
Crude Oil Inventories is out at 10 :30 AM EST. This is Major.

Treasuries

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

We've elected to switch gears a bit and show 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 hit a Low at around 9 AM EST but at the same time the S&P hit a High. If you look at the charts below the ZN gave a signal at around 9 AM and the ZN continued its Upward trend. Look at the charts below and you'll see a pattern for both assets. S&P hit a High at around 8:30 AM and migrated Lower. 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 Long opportunity on the 10-year note, as a trader you could have netted about 30 ticks per contract on this trade. Each tick is worth $15.625. Please note: the front month for the ZN is now Jun '23. The S&P contract is also Jun' 23. I've changed the format to filled Candlesticks (not hollow) such that it may be more apparent and visible.

Charts courtesy of MultiCharts built on an AMP platform

ZN - Jun 2023 - 4/4/23

S&P - Jun 2023 - 4/4/23

Bias

Yesterday we gave the markets an Upside bias as the indices was correlated that way. The markets had other ideas as the Dow dropped 199 points and the other indices lost ground as well. 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

So, who could concentrate on trading yesterday when all of New York (and indeed the entire country) was glued to their TV sets to watch a once in a lifetime, never before indictment of a former President of the United States? I don't think the global markets paid attention to much else yesterday. The markets were correlated to go Higher and initially it appeared as though that might happen as the Dow did penetrate positive territory early yesterday. The economic news wasn't very encouraging as the Jolts Job Openings and Factory Orders did not meet expectation and the markets fell. So today we have ADP Non-Farm Employment Change and Crude Oil Inventories; both of which are major and proven market movers. Perhaps this may help to put the markets in their proper place? As in all things only time will tell.

Author

Nick Mastrandrea

Market Tea Leaves

EUR/USD off highs, back to around 1.1900

EUR/USD keeps its strong bid bias in place despite recedeing to the 1.1900 zone following earlier peaks north of 1.1900 the figure on Monday. The US Dollar remains under pressure, as traders stay on the sidelines ahead of Wednesday’s key January jobs report, leaving the pair room to extend its upward trend for now.

GBP/USD hits three-day peaks, targets 1.3700

GBP/USD is clocking decent gains at the start of the week, advancing to three-day highs near 1.3670 and building on Friday’s solid performance. The better tone in the British Pound comes on the back of the intense sekk-off in the Greenback and despite re-emerging signs of a fresh government crisis in the UK.

Gold picks up pace, retargets $5,100

Gold gathers fresh steam, challenging daily highs en route to the $5,100 mark per troy ounce in the latter part of Monday’s session. The precious metal finds support from fresh signs of continued buying by the PBoC, while expectations that the Fed could lean more dovish also collaborate with the uptick.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin steadies around $70,000, Ethereum and XRP remain under pressure

Bitcoin hovers around $70,000, up near 15% from last week's low of $60,000 despite low retail demand. Ethereum delicately holds $2,000 support as weak technicals weigh amid declining futures Open Interest. XRP seeks support above $1.40 after facing rejection at $1.54 during the previous week's sharp rebound.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Ripple exposed to volatility amid low retail interest, modest fund inflows

Ripple (XRP) is extending its intraday decline to around $1.40 at the time of writing on Monday amid growing pressure from the retail market and risk-off sentiment that continues to keep investors on the sidelines.