Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Early January trading shifts from exploration to execution as markets begin revealing real intent.
📅 Today’s Watch-List: Key Catalysts
Today sits at an important point in the first full trading week of the year. Liquidity has returned, but conviction is still forming.
Institutional Follow-Through
Most desks are now fully active.
Markets are transitioning from:
Probing levels → committing capital
Moves that hold today carry more information value than those earlier in the week.
Macro & Rates
Treasury yields remain the primary driver:
Falling or stable yields → supportive for equities and gold
Rising yields → pressure on risk assets and metals
Watch real yields and the U.S. dollar closely, particularly for gold.
Economic Calendar
No Tier-1 U.S. releases today.
This places emphasis on:
Order flow
Market internals
Technical acceptance or rejection of levels
Market Psychology
Early-January optimism is still present.
Risk today is assuming trends before they’re confirmed.
Expect:
Strong reactions at known levels
Cleaner structure than late December
Still some false starts
Key theme:
Today is about confirmation, not anticipation.
📈 ES – E-mini S&P 500
Current Conditions
ES remains elevated but unresolved.
Price is still testing whether year-end highs represent:
Acceptance and continuation
Or exhaustion and rotation
What to Expect Today
Directional attempts are likely.
Early weakness that holds → constructive.
Early strength that fails → caution.
Today’s range may influence the remainder of the week.
Trading Focus
Trade reactions at key levels.
Avoid momentum chasing in the middle of ranges.
Let acceptance confirm before adding size.
📈 NQ – Nasdaq / Tech
Current Conditions
Tech remains the most yield-sensitive sector.
Leadership is still narrow, making rallies fragile.
What to Expect
Larger intraday swings than ES.
Tech leadership (or lack of it) will signal broader risk appetite.
Trading Focus
Tactical trades favored.
Avoid assuming continuation without yield confirmation.
🥇 Gold (GC)
Current Conditions
Gold remains one of the cleanest technical markets.
Institutional participation is strong during the pit session.
GC continues to respect session structure — ideal conditions for gap-based strategies.
What to Expect Today
Early volatility around the pit open.
Strong tendency toward gap behavior and rotation, especially on first tests of levels.
Gold remains closely tied to real yields and dollar movement.
🛢️ Oil (CL)
Current Conditions
Oil remains range-bound amid mixed global demand expectations.
What to Expect
Direction likely headline-dependent.
Not the cleanest opportunity today.
₿ Crypto (BTC / ETH / Alts)
Current Conditions
Crypto continues to see early-January participation.
Volatility remains elevated.
What to Expect
Sharp intraday swings.
Correlation with equities remains high.
🏠 Real Estate
Current Conditions
Focus remains on rates and financing conditions.
Day-to-day price action is less relevant than macro direction.
🎯 PRO TRADER TRADE OF THE DAY – GOLD (GC)
Presented by Patrick Assalone – Target Trading Academy
Trade Type: Pit Session Opening “Gap Fill”
Market: Gold Futures (GC)
Session: Pit Session Only
If you’re unfamiliar with pit-session gap-fill execution, review the educational video provided by Target Trading Academy or schedule a call with their team before attempting the setup.
How to Use This Plan
Identify the open type:
Gap Up
Gap Down
In Balance
Execute only at listed levels and only in the stated direction.
Target is fixed for all setups.
Risk is managed through position sizing and discipline, not wider stops.
Best results typically come from the first clean test of a level.
Pit Session Reference Levels
Pit High: 4504.20
Pit Low: 4464.10
🔻 IF GC OPENS GAP UP → LOOK SHORT BELOW
4504.30
🔺 IF GC OPENS GAP DOWN → LOOK LONG ABOVE
4464.10
4473.20
4491.70
🎯 TARGET FOR EITHER SET OF ENTRIES
➡️ 4498.30
🔄 IF GC OPENS IN BALANCE (within yesterday’s range)
LOOK SHORT BELOW
4464.10
4443.50
4428.70
4406.90
LOOK LONG ABOVE
4504.30
4517.90
4526.90
4543.10
🧠 TRADE EXPLANATION – WHY THIS SETUP WORKS
This trade is designed for early-session institutional order flow, not prediction.
Why Pit-Session Gap Fills Work
The pit session concentrates real participation.
When gold opens outside the prior pit range, price often:
Tests the extreme
Rotates back toward balance
These rotations are especially reliable during the first clean test.
Why a Fixed Target
4498.30 represents a high-probability rotation zone where:
Counter-trend traders take profits
Liquidity concentrates
Fixed targets remove emotion and enforce discipline.
Execution Mindset
This is not a breakout strategy.
It is a reaction-based, structure-driven trade.
Smaller size and patience outperform conviction here.
🔎 OVERALL TAKEAWAY
Today is about validation.
Markets are beginning to decide which early-January moves deserve follow-through and which do not. This environment rewards traders who:
Let price come to levels
Trade reactions, not opinions
Respect session context and structure
Gold offers one of the cleanest opportunities today due to:
Strong pit-session participation
Clear structural levels
Defined risk and reward
You don’t need to be aggressive — you need to be precise.
Trade the plan.
Respect the levels.
Let the market confirm direction.