Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving.
Elon Musk has set the market ablaze with news that SpaceX and Tesla have each formed committees to study a potential merger. SpaceX shares surged and Tesla moved higher on the announcement. A combined entity would carry a market capitalization of at least three point six trillion dollars, which would rank it among the five most valuable companies on earth.
Shifting to energy, natural gas futures tumbled to a five-week low on Wednesday, falling nearly six percent as forecasts for an above-average warm autumn across the United States crushed near-term demand expectations. Technical selling accelerated once prices broke to fresh contract lows, amplifying the move in what was already a seasonally vulnerable market.
Meanwhile, Meta delivered a standout quarter, posting sixty-four billion dollars in revenue and announcing a stock split alongside its third-quarter results. The report caps a strong stretch for the stock, which recently touched its highest level of the year after months of turbulence. Investors are reading the split as a signal of management confidence in the trajectory ahead.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
