New York (AFP) – Wall Street pushed higher on Friday as SpaceX enjoyed a buoyant market debut following the largest ever initial public offering, while oil prices slid on hopes of an agreement to end the Middle East war. After raising more than $75 billion in a historic IPO, SpaceX soared in its maiden session on Nasdaq, finishing up 19 percent and rendering Elon Musk’s company with an overall valuation above $2 trillion. Briefing.com characterized the start as “impressive” but said it didn’t necessarily portend further gains.
“The focus now shifts to whether SpaceX can hang onto these opening gains once the initial scarcity premium, institutional allocation scramble, and retail enthusiasm begin to settle,” Briefing said. “The caution is valuation and execution risk.” Major US stock indices veered intermittently into the red during the session but finished the session positive. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent.
Besides SpaceX, markets fixated on the mysterious state of play in negotiations between Washington and Tehran over a potential peace deal to end the Middle East war. Iran suggested an agreement was within reach. “The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer,” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote in a social media post. “Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content,” he added.
But US President Donald Trump pivoted from his latest remarks which had suggested a deal was all but complete, calling the Iranians “very dishonorable people” in the most recent talks. In any case, oil prices continued a retreat, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate finishing below $90 a barrel. “The market is holding out hope that we’re going to get some type of extended ceasefire between the US and Iran,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, who added that SpaceX’s strong debut raised confidence about other large IPOs expected from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Europe’s main markets gained more than one percent, following big gains in Asia. “Investors were in a buoyant mood as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran were revived, having seemingly dropped off the table earlier in the week,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. “Whether momentum can be sustained depends on positive noises about a resolution translating into something more solid in the coming days,” he added.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed up almost three percent on Friday, while Seoul’s chip-heavy Kospi gave back earlier gains to end the day more than four percent higher. The Hang Seng and Shanghai also rallied.
– Key figures around 2020 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.4 percent at $87.33 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.2 percent at $84.88 a barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 51,202.26 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 7,431.46 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 25,888.84 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 10,471.72 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.8 percent at 8,350.87 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.8 percent at 24,635.30 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.8 percent at 66,020.04 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 24,718.10 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 4,031.51 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1577 from $1.1578 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3416 from $1.3417
Dollar/yen: UP at 160.23 yen from 159.93 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.27 pence from 86.30 pence
© 2024 AFP
