News

European markets traded firmly in the red on Friday morning as concerns over the banking sector reached the region.

Dow Jones futures fall 0.61% to move below 45,900 during European hours on Friday, ahead of the opening of the United States (US) regular session. The S&P 500 futures decline 0.88% to trade near 6,600, while Nasdaq 100 futures plunge 0.96% to break below 24,600 at the time of writing.

That should put a smile on Sanae Takaichi’s face as it likely reflects better odds now of her becoming the next prime minister. Any pact/alliance is still yet to be formalised though but with the LDP pushing for a vote on 21 October, one can believe that the talks today are merely to finetune an agreement between both sides.

Fujita also says that they will stop any discussions with opposition parties as talks with the LDP now enters into the stage of finalising details. As for the overall backdrop, I summarised the situation here: Japan’s LDP and Nippon Ishin parties set for second round of talks today

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

EUR/USD appreciates for the fourth consecutive day, trading near 1.1720 at the moment of writing on Friday and on track to its best weekly performance in the last three months.

We’re seeing a risk selloff as equities slump but so is the dollar at the moment. Instead, bonds are finding more bids while the Japanese yen and Swiss franc are the preferred plays in the major currencies space. USD/JPY is down 0.6% on the day now to 149.48 and is it time to close the gap from last Monday’s open?

A hold below the 150.00 mark will certainly keep sellers very much interested. That especially with price action also tripping below the 50.0 Fib retracement level of the swing higher to start October trading.

This is all coming as 10-year Treasury yields are sticking with the break under 4%, falling further to 3.93% on the day.

Elsewhere, EUR/USD is up 0.1% to 1.1700 with large option expiries offering up some pull while USD/CHF is down 0.5% to 0.7890 on the day. Even as the dollar struggles though, commodity currencies are worse off amid the risk-off mood in markets today with AUD/USD down 0.5% to 0.6453 currently.

S&P 500 futures are now down 1.2% while in Europe, the DAX is posting 2% losses so far to start the session.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

The Euro accelerated its downtrend against the Japanese Yen on Friday, reaching fresh two-week lows at the 175.20 area so far, as the Japanese Yen rallies across the board following hawkish comments by the Bank of Japan’s policymakers.BoJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida assessed on Friday that the J

Here is what you need to know on Friday, October 17:

Bitcoin Futures Analysis for the End of the Week with tradeCompass

Yesterday’s Ethereum tradeCompass was a success. The bullish threshold was activated, two profit targets were reached, and as per our methodology, the stop was moved to the entry after the first or second target. When Ethereum reversed later, the second half of the position was stopped at breakeven — the first half secured profit, the second was neutral, resulting in a winning trade overall.

This highlights how tradeCompass operates. It’s primarily designed for short-term traders but is also suitable for swing and even long-term traders in cases where major reversal zones are identified. Most of the time, however, it focuses on key technical levels during the week or even within the day, helping traders engage around the most active price zones.

Those following our trade ideas on the investingLive.com Stocks Telegram Group know that we typically move the stop to entry after taking partial profits — often after the first or second target. This structured approach allows the strategy to secure wins even if the move turns out to be a retracement rather than a full trend continuation. Another key principle: one trade per compass. Once a bullish or bearish side is triggered, that’s the only direction traded for that setup.

Ethereum Follow-Up

Ethereum futures continue to lean bearish. If price sustains below $3,800, there’s room for further downside toward $3,555, signaling a potential continuation of the broader crypto cooling phase.

Bitcoin Futures Short Setup

Following that temporary crypto rebound, Bitcoin remains within a bearish structure. The goal of this setup is to align with the potential continuation of that broader decline if the price retraces into our predefined sell zone. These are not random levels — they’re derived from our analysis of VWAP deviations, value area dynamics, and liquidity pools.

Setup details:

• 1st Sell: 107,645

• 2nd Sell: 108,275

• 3rd Sell: 108,800

• Average Entry: 108,240

• Stop: 110,225 (+1.83%)

• TP1: 105,885 → take one-third off (+2.18%)

• TP2: 103,380 → take another third (+4.49%)

• TP3: 93,590 → leave the final third open (+13.54%), targeting a potential breakdown below $100,000

• Blended Reward: ~3.7R

All entries and exits are equal in size. Once TP1 is reached, move the stop to entry to protect the rest of the position. The last third aims to capture an extended bearish leg if a liquidity flush occurs under the 100K zone.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis on the Daily Chart: Bears are in Control after Anchored VWAP was not Protected

On the daily chart above, Bitcoin is currently trading around $106,430 and testing a critical technical structure:

• The purple line marks the anchored VWAP from the April low — an important pivot point that previously attracted strong buyers.

• At Point 1, after touching this anchored VWAP, price reacted strongly to the upside.

• At Point 2, however, buyers failed to defend that same VWAP, suggesting weakening demand.

The yellow channel illustrates the broader trading range that has contained Bitcoin since May. With the VWAP defense broken, the next logical destination could be the lower boundary of this channel, aligning with roughly the $100,000 area. This level is also a psychological round number, where many stop orders and pending liquidity are concentrated.

If price approaches this level, we could see one of two outcomes:

• A liquidity run — market makers triggering stops and reversing upward, or

• A bear flag breakdown, confirming deeper downside momentum below 100K.

Either way, it’s a zone where large players are likely to engage, making it a crucial area to monitor over the coming sessions

Educational Corner – Understanding the Tools Behind tradeCompass

VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price)
VWAP reflects the average traded price weighted by volume. It’s widely used as a real-time fair value benchmark. When price trades above VWAP, it indicates relative strength; when below, relative weakness. Standard deviation bands around VWAP highlight how far price has stretched, helping traders spot potential exhaustion zones for reversals or breakouts.

Value Area (VAH & VAL)
The Value Area High (VAH) and Low (VAL) define where approximately 70% of the total traded volume occurred during a session. These levels reveal where most traders agreed on price value. Breaks outside these areas often precede either strong directional trends or false breakouts that quickly reverse once large orders are absorbed.

Liquidity Pools
Liquidity pools are clusters of stop orders or pending orders around psychologically or technically significant prices — like previous highs/lows, VWAP deviations, or round numbers such as 100,000 in Bitcoin. Market makers often drive price toward these pools to trigger liquidity events before reversing. Identifying these zones allows traders to anticipate where large participants — the “strong hands” — are most likely to act.

Together, VWAP, the value area, and liquidity mapping form the analytical backbone of tradeCompass. These tools help detect where high-probability opportunities exist and where the market might pivot due to the behavior of major participants.

Final Note for Crypto Traders Today (17 Oct, 2025)

This analysis is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. The purpose is to help traders understand how price interacts with volume, liquidity, and key technical structures — and how to manage trades with discipline.

To follow our daily tradeCompass updates and market insights, join our Telegram group at https://t.me/investinglive_stocks, where you will find, among education, trade ideas on a variety of tradable assets – futures, stocks, commodities, FX pairs, crypto. Always at your own risk only, we never provide financial advice.

This article was written by Itai Levitan at investinglive.com.