Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for February 3
Markets jolted after the US shot down an Iranian drone, even as talks between the two sides are still expected to take place on Friday.
This development reawakened nerves, with traders already on edge following last Friday’s historic moves in metals and watching closely for potential ripple effects across asset classes.
Cryptocurrencies and equities corrected sharply amid renewed risk deleveraging, hitting high-beta assets the hardest – Bitcoin breached the $75,000 level, erasing all of its gains since Trump’s appointment in November 2024 (but is closing the session back above the key level).
The risk-off move reignited demand for metals, with Silver surging 9% on the session and Gold rebounding toward the key $5,000 mark.
Meanwhile, the US partial government shutdown is ending early after a narrow 217–214 congressional vote approving $1.2 trillion in funding.
The headline helped calm the selling in markets, triggering a rebound in US equity indices and suggesting elevated fear rather than outright panic.
The US session ultimately closed with pronounced rebalancing flows: Tech and the Magnificent Seven struggled, while most traditional sectors staged a recovery.
With geopolitics, Kevin Warsh’s appointment to replace Powell, and fragile leveraged positioning all in play, traders have plenty to digest in the days ahead.
Elsewhere, the Royal Bank of Australia delivered a 25 bps hike to 3.85%, diverging largely from other central banks that are still cutting and leading to interesting FX developments.
Iran-related developments remain the top risk catalyst, with US–Iran talks still scheduled for Friday, barring further escalation.
Market Close Heatmap – Source: TradingView – February 3, 2026
A very unusual picture in the Stock Market today! Tech and Semiconductors are bleeding while Traditionals are rebounding fiercely.
Cross-Assets Daily Performance
Cross-Asset Daily Performance, February 3, 2026 – Source: TradingView
It would have been easier to say that today was a traditional risk-off session, but looking at the US Dollar falling, today was a bit more peculiar.
Metals recovered during the overnight session and did not bounce much higher after the Iran-drone headlines, hinting that their rebound was more one from dip-buying rather than a proper rebound.
The current deleveraging across asset classes will surely have ripple effects – Keep a close eye on cross-asset movement to see where and why.
A picture of today's performance for major currencies
Currency Performance, February 3, 2026 – Source: OANDA Labs
Today marked the continuing Buy AUD, NZD and Sell JPY and USD trade that has been very juicy in the beginning of the year.
With volatility expected to remain a key factor for movement, these flows are difficult to correlate – Both the USD and JPY are risk-off currency and may spike in any risk-off event, but it sure wasn't the case today.
Major Earnings in Tomorrow's session
Earnings Calendar for February 4, 2026 – Source: Nasdaq.com
Watch out for the Alphabet earnings after close tomorrow afternoon!
A look at Economic data releasing throughout today and tomorrow's sessions
For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar.
New Zealand’s Q4 labour data kicks the evening session off, where employment, unemployment and labour costs will help refine expectations for the RBNZ’s next move, especially after recent signs of cooling momentum.
In Australia, second-tier releases such as the AiG Industry Index, S&P Global PMIs, trade balance and NAB business confidence add colour to domestic demand and external conditions, though they remain secondary to global drivers at this stage.
In Europe, attention shifts to January PMI readings and, more importantly, flash inflation data.
Core and headline HICP prints will be closely watched for confirmation that disinflation is continuing at a pace consistent with eventual ECB easing, while producer prices offer insight into pipeline pressures.
Across the Atlantic, the US calendar is anchored by ADP employment and a heavy ISM Services batch, including prices paid, employment and new orders.
Fed commentary later in the session should add further clarity to current themes.
Safe Trades, keep a close eye on the Middle East!
Follow Elior on Twitter/X for Additional Market News, interactions and Insights @EliorManier
Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only.
If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use.
Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets.
© 2026 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
