Markets are Roller Coasters – Market wrap for the North American session - November 18

[Ben Graham]

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for November 18

As the title says, Markets are roller coasters.

Volatility fiends are loving the action, particularly when looking at how much back and forth action all asset classes are seeing.

As was mentioned in one of our Market Wraps from a few days prior, such flows resemble those that can be seen at the end of huge Quarters.

However, we are still far even for Month-end.

November is known to be a volatile month (although usually one for upside in stocks).

Crypto veterans can only confirm as the two past Market cycle tops (2018 and 2021) have happened between November and December.

Seasonals are always a big thing in Market. Don't forget to keep an eye on them.

Nevertheless, no one could have expected that another 2% gap down in stocks (particularly Tech) would be followed by a follow-up recovery, and once again close lower – Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Tesla are among the worst performers of today's session.

zoom_out_map

US Equity Heatmap. November 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView

Still no apparent cause for the current volatility, at least for now.

Traders are getting ready for some huge earnings reports, with Nvidia tomorrow (Check out our preview!) and Walmart the day after.

How important they are cannot be emphasized enough.

Read More:

• Bitcoin loses 2025 gains: $90,000 marks Crypto Market turning point
• Gold (XAU) and Silver (XAG) send mixed signals to doubtful Traders
• Dollar-franc looks for support at triple bottom ahead of FOMC Minutes, eyes 0.80000

Cross-Assets Daily Performance

zoom_out_map

Cross-Asset Daily Performance, November 18, 2025 – Source: TradingView

A clear wave has been drawn between Stocks and other asset classes today.

Equities are victim of quite some anxiety these days. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Keep an eye on Cryptos which ended up rebounding today after terrible performance (Dead cat bounce or bottom ?).

Oil has been rebounding quite consistently too which remains something to keep your eyes on.

A picture of today's performance for major currencies

zoom_out_map

Currency Performance, November 18 – Source: OANDA Labs

The lack of narrative explaining FX movement these past sessions has been pretty confusing to be quite honest.

The Loonie saw strong flows bringing USD/CAD back below 1.40 for the first time since about a month, and competed with the AUD which saw strong flows once again (this one has been consistent).

On the other hand, the CHF got hammered from what seems to be more position unrolling. Another victim of the Re-basement trade?

Tomorrow's Earnings report – Nvidia in focus

zoom_out_map

Earnings Calendar for Wednesday, Nov 19 – Source: Nasdaq.com

Nvidia will release their earnings after the session close. Expect very anxious trading throughout the session.

A look at Economic data releasing throughout this evening and tomorrow's sessions

zoom_out_map

For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar.

Wednesday is dominated by the UK’s inflation landscape, with CPI, core CPI, PPI outputs and inputs, and the retail price index all landing at once—an important cross-check for how quickly price pressures are cooling heading into year-end (if they actually are cooling).

Europe follows with the ECB’s non-monetary policy meeting and a full set of harmonized inflation readings (not the most volatile usually), which should help shape expectations for the next policy steps.

The Markets will once again have to focus on the Fed as the Bureau of Labor Statistics is slowly getting back into action – Expect more announcements.

The North American session begins late with Miran and Williams before the FOMC Minutes hit (15:00 ET)—a potential catalyst if tone or language shifts from recent messaging, and particularly with the recent doubts regarding the upcoming Decision.

The day wraps with China’s PBoC rate decision, expected to stay put but communications will, as always, be closely watched.

NZD traders should also make sure to not forget the Wage Price Index data releasing at 20:00 ET in this evening's session.

Safe Trades!

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

Opinions are the authors'; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. The provided publication is for informational and educational purposes only.
If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please refer to the MarketPulse Terms of Use.
Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets.
© 2025 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.