Good evening and welcome to Markets Desk, your end-of-day read on what moved markets today.
AppLovin staged a dramatic reversal Wednesday, with shares surging after the company delivered what analysts called clearly positive earnings results. The stock had been the worst performer in the S and P five hundred this year, making today's pop all the more significant for investors who held through a brutal stretch.
Shifting to commodities, crude oil took a punishing blow, with December West Texas Intermediate falling nearly eight and a quarter percent to close at a four-week low. The selloff was driven by growing optimism that the conflict involving Iran could reach a swift resolution, pulling the geopolitical risk premium out of the market almost overnight.
Meanwhile the dollar retreated sharply, with the dollar index tumbling to a five-week low after Democrats swept control of Congress in the midterm elections. Markets interpreted the result as a pathway to political gridlock, raising concerns about tougher tech regulation and potentially softer foreign appetite for dollar-denominated assets. The weaker dollar did offer some lift to New York cocoa futures, which clawed back earlier losses to settle higher on the session.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
