Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving markets right now.
RPC Incorporated took a sharp hit today, with shares falling nearly twelve percent after the departure of Ben Palmer, who had served in several key leadership roles since joining the company back in nineteen ninety six. Markets read the exit as a meaningful loss of institutional continuity, and the selling was swift.
Shifting to the soft commodities complex, cocoa prices surged to five-month highs, with New York futures climbing more than seven percent on the session. Heavy rains in the Ivory Coast have flooded roads and disrupted supply chains, reigniting fears about global cocoa availability at a time when inventories are already stretched thin.
Coffee is also catching a bid, with arabica and robusta both extending a two-week rally to post six-week highs. The culprit there is renewed rainfall in Brazil, which is pushing back the harvest timeline and tightening near-term supply expectations. When the world's largest producer runs behind schedule, the market notices immediately.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
