Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving and why.
Equities are pushing higher this session as fears of another Federal Reserve rate hike continue to fade. The S&P five hundred is up over six tenths of a percent, with the Nasdaq one hundred leading the charge at one percent gains. Softer rate expectations are giving growth names room to breathe, and the broader tape is reflecting that relief.
That same macro backdrop is rippling through commodities, where a dollar index sitting at a seven-week low is doing real work. Arabica coffee is the standout mover, up nearly six percent on the session to a one-week high, as dollar weakness combines with tight ICE warehouse inventories to squeeze the market hard. When the dollar softens and physical supply is already lean, you get moves like this.
Crude oil is also catching a bid from the weaker dollar, with September WTI up roughly one percent and RBOB gasoline up closer to two percent. The added wrinkle here is ongoing uncertainty around a proposed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Talks are continuing, but until there is clarity on that chokepoint, the risk premium stays embedded in the price.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
