NFP surprises to the upside – Market Reactions

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Elior Manier - Picture
By  Elior Manier

11 February 2026 at 15:11 UTC

  • Markets see strong movements after the Non-Farm payrolls beat (130K vs 70K exp)
  • US Dollar led reactions to the upside but traders are casting doubts on the report
  • Exploring reactions across Markets to monitor what is moving the most

Traders received a very positive Non-Farm Payrolls report, which almost doubled its expectations at +130K vs 70K estimates, taking the Unemployment Rate down to 4.3% (from 4.4%).

Immediate reactions were of high-paced rallies in the Dollar which quickly got back on top of the FX action, supported by higher yields (less odds for cuts in 2026, particularly the June Meeting).

Read More: Breaking News: Non-Farm Payrolls at 130K (vs 70K exp) – A strong beat

Flows did however turn slightly since, with the -856K revisions to the 2025 data removing quite a large chunk of jobs created from the picture.

With recent BLS restructuring, Participants have been casting doubts on the accuracy of the headline number itself, hence tend to look more into less misleading numbers such as the UE rate, which will be the focus going forward.

With Hourly earnings rising to 0.4% on the month, it will be tough to justify cuts for the new Fed Chair if the data remains resilient – However, some arguments point toward seasonality for new year job hirings and pay raises, so this puts even more emphasis on next month's release.

Let's dive into some Market Reactions to see where morning flows are heading.

US Dollar rallies but leaves space for lags the Aussie Dollar (AUD)

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US Dollar Index (DXY) 1H Chart – Source: TradingView. February 11, 2026

The Dollar was racing to attempt a break back above 97.00 but is stalling at the Pivotal resistance level, having rejected its 200-period Moving Average.

It is currently getting slowed down by some larger moves in the Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen, both grabbing the attention during the last few periods. The Greenback is still higher on the session against European Currencies and the CAD.

Keep a close eye on the daily highs (97.30).

Stocks jumped higher but getting sold off

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Dow Jones 30M Chart – Source: TradingView. February 11, 2026

The Dow Jones opened shooting higher from the positive report but Wall Street seems to reassess their bullish views – Strong selling flows are currently occurring.

Removing Fed Cuts will not be a positive for Stocks at this stage.

Taking a step back, they remain strong as long as the Dow holds above 50,000.

US Stocks update coming up at the mid-session.

Metals rallied overnight but are facing a test ahead

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Gold 1H Chart – Source: TradingView. February 11, 2026

Precious metals were enjoying quite an easy session, with all of the rallying, with Platinum and Silver both up around 5% and Gold attempting to breach $5,100.

However, bears are defending the (very important) level as the data remains hawkish and won't help Gold and precious metals rallying further.

Silver is also rejecting $84, a key level and which can warrant downside on the session.

Any surprise breach of resistance implies of risk-off positioning (regarding Iran).

Bitcoin is still struggling, rejecting $70,000

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Bitcoin 1H Chart – Source: TradingView. February 11, 2026

Bitcoin and altcoins are still getting rejected, definitely not trendy in the past couple of weeks. With risk-assets seeing rejection since 10:00 A.M. , it will be difficult to justify their rise.

Explore our latest in detail piece for Altcoins right here.

US 10Y Yield rises but also stalls

Bonds are getting rejected (Yields going higher) as traders get ready for a longer pause from the Fed (barring any surprise event or misses).

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US 10Y Yield Daily Chart – Source: TradingView. February 11, 2026

The Employment picture is sending some confusing signs, with NFP largely contradicting last week's private reports – Hawkish reactions could weigh on risk-assets for the time coming, but it will also depend largely on this Friday's CPI report.

Safe Trades and keep an eye headlines!

Follow Elior on Twitter/X for Additional Market News, interactions and Insights @EliorManier

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