Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
The services sector, the largest engine of the American economy, posted stronger growth in May even as inflation ran at its hottest pace in several years. The tension here is real: businesses are expanding activity but quietly freezing hiring to protect margins, which means the labor market may soften before the Fed even finishes its work.
Shifting to commodities, lean hog futures pushed higher through Tuesday's session, with contracts gaining as much one dollar and eighty cents. The USDA's national base hog price came in at ninety five dollars and fifty seven cents, up nearly two dollars on the day. Traders are watching Wednesday's session closely for confirmation of whether that momentum holds.
Cotton is telling a different story this morning, slipping between fifty five and eighty one points in early Wednesday trade after modest gains the session prior. The dollar index ticking higher to ninety nine point one seven is applying some pressure, while crude oil climbing past ninety three dollars adds a layer of cost complexity for agricultural markets broadly.
On the equity side, Sherwin-Williams is the standout mover among Dow components, trading up two point two percent in early Wednesday action, a notable bounce for a stock that has shed nearly eight percent of its value so far this year.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
