Forex Today 24/09: US Stocks Fall As USD Surges

(MENAFN- Daily Forex) Top Regulated Brokers1 Get Started 74% of retail CFD accounts lose money US stock markets corrected sharply yesterday. The Nasdaq I00 Index fell 0.85%, the S&P 500 Index lost 0.74%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.62%. This was a broad risk-off response to higher US yields and renewed inflation concerns, with the major indices pulling back after the Nasdaq 100 and Nasdaq Composite made record highs earlier this week. The Nasdaq 100 Index remains close to its record high. The index had made its first record close since June earlier this week, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded two consecutive all-time-high closes. The pullback does not yet invalidate the broader bullish trend, but it confirms that the rally had become extended and vulnerable to stronger US data and rising yields. Strong US PMI data lifted the Dollar and US Treasury Yields. US manufacturing PMI rose to 52.0 in September, above the 51.4 forecast, while services PMI eased to 51.7 from 52.5 and missed the 52.0 forecast. The data nevertheless reinforced the view that US activity remains resilient enough for the Federal Reserve to keep policy tight. The US Dollar has made a clear bullish breakout. The Dollar Index rose 0.5% to around 101.10, extending above the psychologically important 100.00 area. EUR/USD has fallen to near 1.1380, while USD/JPY is trading above 158.00 and has reached its weakest Yen level in about three weeks. The GBP/USD currency pair is also close to its 1-year low price at 1.3140. Since today's Tokyo open, the Swiss Franc has been the strongest of the major currencies, while the Australian Dollar has been the weakest. The Japanese Yen is becoming a key market risk. USD/JPY has reached approximately 158.32, above the 158.00 level which has been highlighted as important resistance. The speed of the Yen's recent decline increases the risk of verbal intervention by Japanese officials. Trend traders may still see a bullish USD/JPY structure, but long positions here carry elevated intervention risk. Major cryptocurrencies have pulled back but remain near multi-month highs. Bitcoin fell to around $83,900 after failing to hold above $86,000, while Ethereum, Solana, and BNB have also eased from their recent highs. The broader bullish breakout structures remain valid while Bitcoin stays established above approximately $82,000, but the decline shows that the cryptocurrency sector remains highly sensitive to moves in US yields and overall risk sentiment. Crude Oil has become somewhat volatile again. Brent Crude rose 3.9% yesterday to $103.08 as Iran's president said the country would not surrender to the US, ending the recent losing streak. WTI, however, fell 2.6% to $92.16. Such divergent and rapid moves underline how difficult this market is to trade while every geopolitical headline can alter the near-term supply-risk premium. The Trump-Xi summit is today's main geopolitical event. President Trump and President Xi will meet in Washington today, with the tariff truce, technology restrictions, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, agricultural trade, Taiwan, and Iran all on the agenda. Markets will be watching especially for an extension of the tariff truce, which expires in November, and any progress on Chinese purchases of US agricultural products such as Soybeans. Soybeans remain close to a significant bullish breakout. A constructive Trump-Xi outcome that includes Chinese agricultural purchases could strengthen the bullish case for Soybeans, which are already close to a major multi-year high. Trend traders will likely wait for a sustained close above the recent high before adding to long positions, but most will still be long of this soft commodity.

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