Headland Research First Light · a daily market briefing

First Light · Friday, 9 October 2026

Your eyes and ears on the Asian session — while the US sleeps.

A daily, marked-to-market briefing on gold, FX and crypto — read from Australia while the US sleeps through the Asian session. First Light lands in your inbox each trading morning.

Published every trading morning since 12 June 2026 · 79 briefings on the public record · every idea tracked, win or lose

Track record — simulated paper bookas of 2026-10-10
$4,780
Realised P&L
48.3%
Win rate
1.32
Profit factor
235
Trades closed
−17.7%
Max drawdown

Simulated paper account — launched 6 May 2026 with a notional $10,000, every idea tracked win or lose. Simulated results have inherent limitations and do not represent actual trading. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. See the full record →

How First Light works

I Evening, your time

Read First Light after work

Wall Street is shut and the Asian session is where the overnight moves happen. One concise briefing lays out the wrap, the calendar, and the day’s ideas.

II Before you sleep

Place your resting orders

Each idea comes with entry, stop and target levels — the order mechanics, so a plan can sit working overnight while you’re asleep.

III Breakfast

Check the result

Wake up to the outcome. Every idea is then marked to market on the public paper book — win or lose, no cherry-picking.

From this morning’s briefing Friday, 9 October 2026
Oil jumped again on fresh attacks on Gulf shipping, and borrowing costs in the US are sitting near their highest in over twenty years — a combination that tends to squeeze shares, crypto and gold at the same time. The US dollar has the upper hand, so my lean today is to sell bounces rather than chase dips. The one trade already working for us is the short on USDJPY, which is up more than a full "R" (a unit of risk) with half the position banked.
Today’s ideas
  • XAUUSDSHORT Fade a rally into yesterday's high levels for subscribers
  • EURUSDSHORT Sell strength at the prior-day high levels for subscribers
  • BTCUSDSHORT Sell a relief bounce levels for subscribers
Read this morning’s briefing →
I

Done-for-you overnight research

Overnight wrap, the day’s calendar, and a handful of specific ideas with levels. Market commentary, not advice.

II

A public, marked-to-market record

Every idea tracked on a simulated paper book — no screenshots of the good days only. Public and continuous.

III

Research-firm discipline

Numbers over adjectives. Calibrated conviction, honest about losses. The tone of a research desk, not a hype channel.

Read the session. Place your orders. Sleep.

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