A boring confusion after a chaotic open – North American Session Market Wrap for March 24

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for March 24

Today marked a much calmer session after Yesterday's wild swings, as the situation hasn't changed much since the repricing of a potentially closer end to the US-Iran War.

Trump welcomed Markets with a positive surprise early Monday morning, announcing that the US had already begun discussing a deal with the remaining Iranian diplomats. The news sparked a wave of optimism among Investors. Still, despite its strength, the move did not extend further.

Doubts remain as a gigantic US Marine convoy is approaching the Middle East and should reach its destination towards the end of the week. Are Markets going to see boots on the ground, or will a fair deal first materialize?

The Israeli side expressed its discontent with the 15-point plan drafted by President Trump, as it would fall short of more hopeful concessions from the Islamic regime.

The IRGC stated that they would want to maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz and their Ballistic Missiles program.

Looking at the damage done from those all across the Middle East, this certainly will be an area of debate (and would not reassure Iran's neighbors).

Oil prices across the globe did not hold their previous session's lows, which helped the US dollar bounce higher, now forming a range above 99.00 (DXY) and containing risk sentiment. Cryptos actually rejected their previous relative strength, with BTC back below $70,000 ($69,000 is the real key level to watch).

Keep a close eye on WTI, Brent, the US Dollar, and Stock Markets, as headlines don't help much in understanding the ongoing situation – except for fundamentally changing news. It could be more informative to search for breakout spots and execute them when decisive flows come in.

Read More:

• Wall Street uncertain amid US-Iran (potential) talks – Dow Jones and US Stock Market Outlook
• Is the war taking a new turn? – WTI Technical analysis
• The Metals space is as confused as traders are – Silver (XAG/USD) & Gold (XAU/USD) intraday outlook

The initial wave of rallying that was seen after the strong US Manufacturing PMIs quickly got overshadowed by significant hits in both Microsoft and Google as the session went by.

Still, Producer Manufacturing and Utilities held the Dow Jones right above unchanged while other Indexes struggled a bit more, particularly the Nasdaq.

Today mostly saw some easing of the previous sessions' gains, with Oil rallying an extra 3.70% and sagging the ambience.

Black Gold remains the product to watch to navigate these confusing Markets, but overall, expect consolidations across asset classes as Markets await for a clear outcome of the US-Iran diplomatic attempts.

FX saw a much more contained action in today's calmer session, with the US Dollar forming a range and bouncing from its lows.

99.68 on the Dollar Index is a significant level to watch: extending from there would mark a more volatile range in Major currencies, while rejecting the level puts should contain volatility further.

However, expect a day full of surprises tomorrow between headlines and a few major events (particularly for the GBP which outperformed a lot in recent sessions.)

Tomorrow reserves many surprises, particularly for GBP traders who will welcome the release of their entire Inflation set.

AUD traders should also remain cautious with the Australian CPI releasing this evening (18:40!)

Those trading the Euro will listen closely to the Lagarde speech at 5:00 A.M. (ET), particularly as it may introduce future hikes.

Keep a close eye on sentiment and Middle East news.

Safe Trades!

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