CHART DISTRICT
DAILY PRE-MARKET BRIEF · September 21, 2026
Generated 2026-09-21T12:00:09Z · Not Financial Advice
Macro Overview
U.S. large-cap futures are holding above their 20-day EMAs with RSI still constructive despite a mild mean-reversion move in ES/NQ, suggesting buyers are defending the structure. Gold is the outlier: it has slipped under the 20-day EMA and RSI has cooled to 39.7, flipping the short-term bias to BEARISH for now. FX is a tighter story: DXY is firmer and GBPUSD is flatlining near the EMA20 with a NEUTRAL read, while USDCAD is outperforming on the same USD impulse.
Instrument Dashboard
ES — E-mini S&P 500
Last: 7768.0
CHG: +1.45%
EMA20: 7669.8597
RSI: 61.4
ATR: 79.3321
Bias: ▲ BULLISH
Futures are holding above the 20-day EMA; RSI at 63.4 shows buyers still in control. A break below 7,490 could trigger a flush toward 7,400.
NQ — E-mini Nasdaq 100
Last: 30247.75
CHG: +2.14%
EMA20: 29443.4376
RSI: 66.6
ATR: 429.4872
Bias: ▲ BULLISH
Nasdaq continues to outperform with RSI at 65.9. Watch the 29,664 support; a hold keeps the risk-on tape intact.
YM — Dow Jones Futures
Last: 52528.0
CHG: +1.48%
EMA20: 52644.5321
RSI: 49.6
ATR: 642.5
Bias: → NEUTRAL
Dow futures are the steadiest of the three, RSI at 67.4 and price above the EMA20. Less volatile, but the bias remains positive.
GC — Gold Futures
Last: 4405.3999
CHG: -0.44%
EMA20: 4420.2264
RSI: 51.5
ATR: 108.8356
Bias: → NEUTRAL
Gold has broken below its 20-day EMA at 4,537.6 with RSI cooling to 39.7. Short-term trend is now BEARISH; watch 4,450 for bounce potential.
EURUSD — Euro/USD
Last: 1.1493
CHG: +0.15%
EMA20: 1.1564
RSI: 38.6
ATR: 0.0047
Bias: ▼ BEARISH
EURUSD is testing support below 1.165; RSI at 47.7 leaves the bias BEARISH against a firmer dollar.
GBPUSD — GBP/USD
Last: 1.3394
CHG: +0.27%
EMA20: 1.3486
RSI: 37.6
ATR: 0.0062
Bias: ▼ BEARISH
Pegged at 1.3433 with RSI 49.6, GBPUSD is flatlining around the EMA20 — no clear directional edge this morning.
USDJPY — USD/JPY
Last: 157.205
CHG: +0.69%
EMA20: 156.5461
RSI: 50.2
ATR: 2.0061
Bias: → NEUTRAL
USD/JPY is still elevated with RSI at 62.4; buyers are defending the 159.15 EMA. A push above 160 would add conviction.
AUDUSD — AUD/USD
Last: 0.714
CHG: +0.35%
EMA20: 0.7143
RSI: 50.9
ATR: 0.0043
Bias: → NEUTRAL
AUDUSD has slipped to 0.7126, just above the EMA20, but RSI at 48.1 keeps the read NEUTRAL.
USDCAD — USD/CAD Fallback
Last: 1.4001
CHG: +0.08%
EMA20: 1.3901
RSI: 62.0
ATR: 0.007
Bias: ▲ BULLISH
USDCAD is outperforming at 1.3899 with strong RSI of 65.8; the pair is above the EMA20 and showing clear BULLISH momentum on USD strength.
DXY — Dollar Index
Last: 100.222
CHG: +0.0%
EMA20: 99.6398
RSI: 61.3
ATR: 0.4496
Bias: ▲ BULLISH
Dollar Index at 99.385 is above the 20-day EMA with RSI at 59.8 — constructive, but not overbought yet.
Key Risk / Catalyst
Watch the 07:30 ET payroll data release — a miss or upward revision can break the current EMA-contingent range in risk assets. If the print surprises to the upside, expect USDJPY and USDCAD to extend; a miss would likely flip gold back above 4,537.6 and drag DXY lower.
CHART DISTRICT · DAILY BRIEF · NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE
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