Energy and Rotations – North American Session Market Wrap for January 8

[Ben Graham]

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for January 8

The session is closing on a mixed note, painting a classic pre-NFP picture: choppy, directionless trading across most asset classes, but with a few very specific stories driving the undercurrents.

One thing that stands out is Oil and Energy Markets, which are rising sharply after yesterday's strange correction.

The protests in Iran—which are rapidly looking less like civil unrest and more like the early stages of a full-blown Revolution—are reigniting serious concerns about energy supply volatility.

The market consensus had been that the Venezuela developments were surprisingly "uneventful" in terms of immediate WTI price spikes (likely due to the long lead time for Venezuelan supply to actually come online).

However, Iran is a different beast. With strikes reported on pipelines and gas shortages fueling the anger, the risk of an immediate supply shock is far more tangible as the sanctioned nation remains one of the largest suppliers of Black Gold.

This fear is filtering directly into equities.

Energy stocks and Industrials are doing the heavy lifting for the major indices today, effectively acting as a hedge against geopolitical escalation – This is leading to the Dow Jones rallying while the Nasdaq retreats.\

Meanwhile, the "debasement" favorites—Metals and Cryptos—remain subdued, perhaps catching their breath or wary of a hot wage number in tomorrow's report.

Today effectively serves as the final calm session before what could be a significant storm.

The NFP report is less than 16 hours away, and its importance cannot be overstated. After the data distortions of late 2025, this is the first "clean" look at the labor market.

The most influential traders and institutional heavyweights are sitting on their hands, waiting for this specific data point to place their full sized first major macro bets of 2026.

Discover:

• Defensive Stocks Rotation ahead of NFP - Index Outlook and NFP Trading Levels
• NFP Preview: Federal Reserve’s Pivot at a Crossroads, Implications for the US Dollar & Nasdaq 100
• Monetary policy divergence: Australia & Eurozone CPI and the EUR/AUD tumble

Stock Market Heatmap – Energy and Industrials lead while Healthcare and Tech lag

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Market Close Heatmap – Source: TradingView – January 8, 2026

Cross-Assets Daily Performance

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Cross-Asset Daily Performance, January 8, 2026 – Source: TradingView

Except for Energy and the Dow which led global assets in today's action, the surprising move remained the US Dollar, rising against all its FX peers as its upbeat Layoffs data reassured ongoing economic strength for the global leader.

Expect much more volatility in tomorrow's session!

A picture of today's performance for major currencies

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Currency Performance, January 8, 2026 – Source: OANDA Labs

FX movement was heavily subdued today as traders get ready for tomorrow's NFP report.

Nothing to see here but get ready for tomorrow: Will Antipodeans and the Yuan continue to outperform?

Interesting developments could take place tomorrow.

A weak NFP should see harsh USD correction with a mirror approach in the case of a beat.

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

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

The end of the week opens with Asia in focus, as China releases December CPI and PP

I. Inflation remains subdued, keeping deflation risks on the radar and reinforcing expectations for continued policy support if the lack of price pressures fail to stabilize – Previous reports have still shown some improvements so this one will be watched closely.

The Yuan also has been rising substantially recently, so these developments could prove important particularly for the AUD and NZD!

There will be some relatively important data for the Eurozone with Retail Sales releasing at 5:00 A.M. but traders will all be awaiting for the North American Session:

The main event comes later with Canada and the U.S. labor reports released simultaneously (8:30 A.M).

Canada’s jobs data will be closely watched after November’s strong gains, while the U.S. delivers the full payrolls package alongside wages, participation, and underemployment.

Housing data and several Fed speakers follow, before the session wraps up with preliminary Michigan sentiment and inflation expectations—key inputs for rate and FX positioning into the new week.

Don't forget to check out our NFP Preview on MarketPulse.

Safe Trades and Good Luck for tomorrow's NFP Release!

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