Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk.
Junk-bond spreads are hovering near levels last seen before the two thousand seven to two thousand nine financial crisis, and history is sending a warning. The bond market has rarely been this calm, and analysts note that when credit spreads compress this far, the eventual repricing can be sharp and sudden. Hedging now may be the prudent move.
Turning to commodities, soybeans are pulling back modestly this Friday morning after a strong intraday run, with nearby contracts posting fractional to penny losses. Open interest climbed by thirteen thousand seven hundred fifty-seven contracts on Thursday, suggesting positioning remains active even as prices cool. The ag complex is watching macro headwinds closely.
Meanwhile, cotton is holding onto Thursday's gains at midday, trading eight to fifty-seven points higher across most contracts. Crude oil is adding meaningful support, up five dollars and seventy-one cents per barrel, while the dollar index edges higher by three tenths. Export sales data showed fifty-one thousand two hundred eighty-seven running bales of cotton sold for the two thousand twenty-five to twenty-six marketing year in the week of July sixteenth.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
