Economic calendar · Intermediate

How Markets React to News Releases

A 1-minute lesson from the MarketPro academy, one of 16 in economic calendar and news.

Last reviewed 15 September 2026 by the MarketPro research desk · Editorial policy

Short answer

The moments immediately following a major scheduled release can look very different from normal trading conditions, as prices can move rapidly while participants digest new information and adjust positions. Immediately after a high-impact release, it's common to see a sharp initial price spike, sometimes followed by a partial reversal as the market reassesses the data or waits for more context, such as details buried within the report or comments during an accompanying press conference.

Immediately after a high-impact release, it's common to see a sharp initial price spike, sometimes followed by a partial reversal as the market reassesses the data or waits for more context, such as details buried within the report or comments during an accompanying press conference. This back-and-forth reflects the market processing not just the headline figure but its components and implications.

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Initial spike: often driven by fast, automated reactions to the headline number relative to consensus.
Follow-through or reversal: can occur as traders digest underlying details, revisions to prior data, or accompanying commentary.
Reduced liquidity: bid-ask spreads can widen sharply in the seconds around a release, meaning execution prices may differ notably from what was displayed just before the event.

Because these dynamics can be fast and unpredictable, trading directly through a major release carries meaningfully elevated risk compared with calmer market conditions. There is no reliable way to guarantee favorable execution or outcome during this window, and many traders choose to wait for volatility to settle before acting, rather than attempting to react to the release itself.

Step 4 of 8 on Trading News Like a Pro

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Written and reviewed by the MarketPro research desk

MarketPro is a trading-signal and trading-education app operated by Harajuku Holdings LTD (Cyprus). Our signal desk publishes and tracks every trade idea in-app, and every page here is checked against the app's live behaviour before publishing. Last reviewed 15 September 2026. How we produce signals and content · About MarketPro

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