Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving.
Wingstop is feeling the pressure, and Wall Street is still looking for a floor. The chicken-wing chain's executives are blaming higher gasoline prices for a drag on first-quarter sales, squeezing the consumer just enough to pull them away from discretionary dining. Shares have been in retreat, and analysts are watching closely for any sign of a demand bottom.
Shifting to rates, mortgage costs have surged to a nearly four-week high, and the culprit is geopolitical. Negative headlines out of Iran sent bond yields climbing, and as yields move, mortgage rates follow — that's the mechanical relationship that ties foreign policy risk directly to your monthly housing payment. It's a reminder that the bond market prices in everything.
And over in the cattle pits, live cattle futures posted solid gains Tuesday, up as much as four dollars and fifty-five cents on the session. Open interest climbed by eight thousand six hundred fifty contracts, signaling fresh money entering the trade. Cash prices kicked off the week on a higher note, with live cattle trading at two hundred fifty-two dollars and dressed cuts fetching three hundred ninety-five to three hundred ninety-six in the north.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
