The tone sours again ahead of a risky weekend – North American Session Market Wrap for April 23

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for April 23

Surprisingly, markets haven't traded much on the highly uncertain picture that has developed over recent days.

Even though President Trump extended the temporary ceasefire, the diplomatic reality remains quite murky, with Iran decidedly undecided on exactly who will attend the negotiations and when these critical talks will even take place.

On the macroeconomic front, today was an important PMI session.

The headline numbers looked exceptionally strong across the globe, with US Manufacturing hitting four-year highs and the Services sector beating expectations by a solid margin, coming in at 51.3 versus the 50.3 forecast.

However, looking under the hood reveals some underlying issues.

Much of this surging activity is actually being driven by front-loaded pre-orders, as businesses desperately stockpile goods due to fears of war-led supply chain shortages. This notably propelled Manufacturing way above Services.

While this recent strength in global data is a welcome sign—especially as it accompanies record earnings across various US sectors—we are still in early 2026.

These geopolitical dynamics can disturb the decent economic landscape in a flash, making the macro data in the coming months absolutely essential to watch as the true toll of the war and higher oil prices filters into the global economy.

The intraday mood did shift abruptly when President Trump actively changed his tone.

Ceaselessly receiving questions on the timeline for the Iran negotiations, he bluntly told reporters, "Don't rush me", and Investors didn't like it much – The passive aggressive tone is beginning to create some doubts

With the Army maintaining the aggressive US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian economy is receiving quite a toll and this is being used as maximum pressure to force Tehran into a deal sooner rather than later.

After a stellar, record-breaking week for risk assets, tomorrow's Friday session will be a critical test of weekend risk, as traders must decide whether they want to hold these historic highs into an increasingly tense geopolitical blur.

Read More:

• Silver (XAG/USD) is under pressure from Ceasefire clouds – In-depth analysis
• Markets are stuck in the waiting for US-Iran talks – Market Check
• Gold (XAU/USD) Technical Analysis: Bulls defend $4700 support. Is a break above $4750 on the way?
• USD/JPY maintains a clear range ahead of Japanese CPI – FX Analysis

As you can see on today's heatmap, the PMIs still have quite a large effect on daily Market activity, with strong rotation flows towards more defensive sectors after the Manufacturing beat.

After heavy rises throughout the week, this profit-taking may just continue.

WTI exploded again above $96 as the tone soured and traders are slowly exiting their heavy risk-on positioning accumulated throughout the week.

The rise in Black Gold is hurting all other risk-assets, subject to some heavier inflationary pressures.

Above $100, the profit-taking may just accelerate further, so be careful.

The US Dollar is subject to a continuous rebound since reaching its 98.00 Support last Friday, and this is applying pressure on all other FX currencies.

The next 24 hours will be very important for global Markets, between Japan's CPI and Retail Sales for the UK and Canada that should keep FX Markets on their toes.

But most importantly, prepare for an important weekend risk session.

As always, make sure to follow talks around US-Iran negotiations that should happen over the weekend.

Safe Trades!

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