And The The Next Leg Lower…….

I’d pull up a chart of the SP 500 pretty damn quick if I was you, and consider how far we’ve fallen and “how fast”.

Today’s move upward doesn’t come CLOSE to being considered a “reversal” as we’ve barely even “bounced” – with respect to the near term technical damage done over the last couple of days. Even now the index looking weak moving into the late afternoon.

I usually don’t make short-term calls on U.S Equities but as I see things from a purely “technical perspective” you might expect another day, or even another day or two – before we roll over and take the next leg lower.

That’s right “the next leg” lower.

Long USD trades turned out fantastic, although I’m not at happy with the way I traded it. Another 1% added here with short EUR and CHF providing most of the juice. Now leaning pretty heavy on the short NZD trade moving forward. JPY pairs still suggesting more JPY strength to come so….beware! The ol SP “risk o meter” is still very much so pointed – lower.

 

 

Reading the Risk Reversal Signals in Real Time

The technical picture couldn’t be clearer if someone drew it with a fat red marker. When equities crater this hard this fast, currency markets don’t just sit around picking their nose – they move with precision. The USD strength we’re seeing isn’t some flash in the pan; it’s institutional money running for cover while retail traders are still trying to figure out which way is up.

Short EUR positioning has room to run further. The European Central Bank’s dovish pivot combined with U.S. resilience creates a divergence trade that’s practically screaming at you from the charts. CHF getting hammered alongside EUR tells you everything about safe-haven flows – they’re all moving into dollars, not into traditional European hedges.

NZD Weakness: The Next Domino Falls

New Zealand Dollar is setting up for a beautiful short opportunity, and here’s why: commodity currencies always get crushed when risk appetite disappears. The RBNZ has already signaled their dovish intentions, and with China’s economy showing more cracks than a sidewalk in earthquake country, NZD has nowhere to hide. The technical setup is clean – we’ve broken key support levels and any bounce from here is just giving you a better entry point to get short.

Look for NZD/USD to test the 0.5800 area in the coming weeks. This isn’t some wild prediction – it’s what happens when carry trades unwind and global growth fears take center stage. The correlation between NZD weakness and equity market stress remains intact, and with the SP 500 looking like it wants to test lower levels, this currency pair becomes a high-probability short.

JPY Strength: The Unwinding Continues

Japanese Yen pairs are flashing warning signals that most traders are completely ignoring. When JPY starts flexing its muscles, it’s not because Japan suddenly became an economic powerhouse – it’s because massive carry trade positions are getting unwound faster than you can say ‘risk off.’ The Bank of Japan’s recent hawkish hints combined with global uncertainty creates a perfect storm for continued Yen strength.

USD/JPY breaking below key technical levels should have your full attention. This pair has been the poster child for risk-on sentiment for months, and when it starts rolling over, everything else follows. The market bottom everyone’s looking for might be further away than anticipated, especially if JPY strength continues to accelerate.

Dollar Dominance: Separating Noise from Signal

Despite what the permabears keep screaming about USD weakness, the reality on the ground tells a different story. When global markets get volatile, when geopolitical tensions rise, when central banks start playing games – guess where the money flows? Straight into dollars, just like it always has.

The DXY strength we’re witnessing isn’t temporary. It’s structural. European economies are facing energy crises, inflation persistence, and political instability. Asian currencies are getting crushed by China’s slowdown and regional tensions. Meanwhile, the U.S. maintains relative economic stability and the world’s deepest, most liquid financial markets.

Trading the Next Phase

Here’s your roadmap: stay long USD against commodity currencies and European majors. The technical damage in equity markets creates a feedback loop that strengthens the dollar further. Each bounce in risk assets becomes a selling opportunity, each dip in USD pairs becomes a buying opportunity.

Position sizing becomes critical here. When trends are this strong, when correlations are this tight, you don’t need to be a hero with massive leverage. Let the market do the heavy lifting while you collect consistent profits from high-probability setups. The beauty of currency markets during equity volatility is the sustained nature of these moves – they don’t reverse on a dime like individual stocks can.

Risk management remains paramount, but the directional bias couldn’t be clearer. Until equity markets find genuine support and global growth concerns subside, the USD strength story continues to write itself across multiple timeframes and currency pairs.

9 Responses

  1. Brosbhos January 30, 2014 / 1:42 pm

    Anything on AUD relative strength against USD? I don’t really understand why this specific currency holds stronger than say NZD or EUR.

    • Forex Kong January 30, 2014 / 1:53 pm

      Well….very different than EUR but usually trades similar to NZD.

      NZD held off on interest rate hike yesterday and has been an absolute brute / strong currency for months now….finally taking profits / pulling back along with risk in general.

      AUD is a bounce and nothing more – moving “up with risk” on a “day like today” – but most certainly not in general.

      I have both NZD as well AUD heading lower, and lower….

  2. Rob January 30, 2014 / 1:47 pm

    Hey Kong,

    This is Rob again, the same gent whose post you ended up using as a blog entry about a week back : ). That was neat thanks for that. Question for you…

    I just read that you are favoring short Kiwi as we go forward, and I think that is a good play, my question though is timing, Kiwi seems to have take a bit of a beaten on most pairs recently, don’t you think she is due a bounce up before getting smoked?

    Another pair I mentioned last time I posted on your blog was CAD. I thought it was a bit toppy at levels back then and perhaps got in too early on a particular CAD trade, but the run up against the Loonie now again looks tired to me and toppy. What are your thoughts on America’s neighbor?

    Cheers take care.

    • Forex Kong January 30, 2014 / 1:56 pm

      NZD has finally had the wind come out of the sales…..it’s a pain to trade anyways.

      I’m leaning short in that it’s FINALLY showing the kind of weakness that tips my indictors.

      Love Cad…. ( as I am Canadian as well! ) but not in a risk off environment obviously….getting pounded.

      The move VS USD is ripe for reversal yes – but not yet.

  3. Kalahari January 30, 2014 / 2:37 pm

    Aud/cad looks again at the top of the range, good time to short

    • Forex Kong January 30, 2014 / 2:59 pm

      Certainly a “ranging pair” yes…and even with potencial 100 pips to .99, to start chippin away here / building around the horn??

      You bet -I’ll bite on some of that.

      Small orders, staggerd throughout coming days. Boom – a winner!

      • Kalahari January 30, 2014 / 3:07 pm

        Glad you like it, thanks for your SP500 tip certainly seems to be on the move again

        • Forex Kong January 30, 2014 / 3:11 pm

          Even another day er two up “still” can’t repair the damage as ( in my view ) it’s now to be viewed as a counter trend move.

          A bounce in a newly established downtrend.

  4. Anonymous January 30, 2014 / 6:45 pm

    Kong –
    Forgive/correct me if I misunderstand your stance/outlook here. Based on what I’m reading, you see the dollar going up and the equities market going down? Do I have that right? If I am understanding you correctly, where does gold hang it’s hat?

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