Trump strikes again – North American session Market wrap for January 19

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for January 19

US traders were off for Martin Luther King which concentrated action during the overnight Asia and Euro Sessions ~ Nevertheless, US traders will have some work to do as they come back to their desks.

EU-US tensions are rising as Trump issues further threats to purchase Greenland for "national security reasons".

Weekly Open Volatility then spiked to the upside despite a calmer North American session, leading to a significant shift in recent Market flows.

The US Dollar, US Equity Futures, and bonds sold off, while other currencies, particularly the Swiss Franc, rose.

Meanwhile, the Gold and Silver combo exploded to new all-time highs before the action slowed down drastically with the afternoon London Fix.

Crypto remains a mystery and hasn't moved much in correlation with the latest geopolitical events, although Bitcoin stands at an interesting technical support level.

By the way, Natural Gas exploded higher by 15% as a cold-wave heats up supply threats and European Nat-Gas sources could get further compromised by new tensions between the EU and the US ~ Without Russian commodities, the Eurozone will have to get creative.

With volatility likely to remain elevated, traders should keep a close watch on the headlines.

Discover:

• EUR/USD hints a breakout after latest Trump-Greenland chaos
• US Markets fall as Greenland tensions flare – Stock Markets closed for MLK Day
• Greenland as the trigger of a new trade war

The US Stock Market was closed today ~ Overall Stock Indexes sold off as global trade tensions and uncertainty heat up.

Even the high-pace Nikkei broke its winning trend ~ US Futures couldn't escape their fate, with Nasdaq leading to the downside (-1.20%)

Most of the action happened at the Globex open and overnight session – The rest was mainly mean-reversion from profit-taking.

Natural Gas and Metals remain the large winners of today's action. Still, the real test will be to see what happens when US Traders return.

The Yen can't catch a break as it drags lower every day: PM Takaichi officially announced the Snap Elections which hurts credibility and traders just won't listen to the intervention warnings and verbal threats.

Profiting from Yen depreciation has been a juicy trade until now.

Surprisingly, it closes below the US Dollar which got harshly rejected, as fundamentals cross with the technicals in the latest Geopolitical drama.

Explore our in-depth USD outlook from Friday right here to learn more!

The week opens with Asia in focus. New Zealand’s Business PSI offers an early read on activity, before attention turns to China with the PBoC interest rate decision, a key signal for regional liquidity conditions and broader risk sentiment.

Tuesday is much heavier across Europe and the UK. Eurozone PPI and the EcoFin meeting set the macro backdrop, while UK labour data (earnings, employment change, and unemployment rate) will be awaited during the overnight session.

Expectations for the monthly Claimants Count (Jobless Claims) data are at ~19K.

Later in the session, sentiment takes centre stage in Europe with the ZEW surveys, providing an update on confidence and the economic outlook.

In the US, the weekly ADP employment serves as a preliminary labour market check, before ECB communication from Nagel rounds out the day.

Watch out for surprising flows when US Traders get back to their desks!

Safe Trades, keep a close eye on Middle East and Greenland developments!

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