US indices ended deep in the red wit the S&P closing below the 21EMA for the first time since December as volatility shows some sign of retuning : NVIDIA , the poster child of this big rally , took the brunt of the selling dropping 3.5% with AMD -8% as the semis led technology lower - see heatmap. The NASDAQ 100 index closed below the 50MA for the first time sine this rally broke out last Oct-November.

Middle East tensions added to the recent oil strength which I have been signalling - Brent Crude breaking above $91  see chart : as yet another reminder that inflation may not be as tame as many expect and rate cut expectations may need to be reconsidered

Gold hit $2300 and has pulled back in advance of the NFP data later today which is likely to introduce some volatility and may well trigger a deeper sell-off  given the run-up in gold and potential for some profit taking: that said, every minor pullback in gold has been rapidly bough so weakness may prove short lived. The reaction will prove telling on the continued trajectory of gold which still looks very bullish