Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
(Bloomberg) --
Aramco cuts valuation to get IPO done, Hong Kong standoff, and trade talks continue. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.
$1.7 trillion
Saudi Aramco will seek a valuation of between $1.6 trillion and $1.71 trillion, in a float that is a long way from the initial aims of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. While the valuation means the company will easily overtake Apple Inc. as the world’s most valuable publicly traded stock, the sale of just a 1.5% stake means the offering may raise slightly less than the $25 billion Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. got in 2014. With the IPO’s global ambitions curtailed — shares will not be offered in the U.S., Canada or Japan — there will be a high reliance on local investors, while the company canceled the London leg of the roadshow. That’s something the country’s central bank is facilitating by changing rules to allow banks in the kingdom lend more to retail customers to invest in the float.
Hong Kong
There were violent scenes around Hong Kong Polytechnic University as hundreds of protesters who have taken over the campus battle surrounding police. The chaos that’s gripped the city shows little sign of easing as demonstrators call for rallies near the university to support those inside. Democracy campaigners chalked up a small victory when the High Court found that the local government’s controversial face-mask ban is unconstitutional.
‘Constructive’
Trade talks between the U.S. and China continued over the weekend with China’s Vice Premier Liu He speaking with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer by phone on Saturday. The Chinese Commerce Ministry described the discussions as “constructive” and said both sides agreed to stay in close communication. With trade keeping global markets on tenterhooks, banks are building their views on the outcome of talks into 2020 forecasts. Most expect a resolution of the standoff.
Markets rise
Global equities are rising as all the trade chatter right now sounds positive. Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3%, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index staging a rebound after last week’s selloff. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1% higher at 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time. Owners of Madrid’s stock-exchange saw their shares surge the most on record as two suitors confirmed interest this morning in buying the bourse. S&P 500 futures also posted small gains, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.848% and gold was lower.
Coming up…
It is a relatively quiet day on the economic data front, with just the November NAHB housing market index at 10:00 a.m. and September TIC flows at 4:00 p.m. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester is the only monetary policy maker scheduled to speak today. The SIFMA annual meeting begins in Washington with Mark Mobius among those addressing the conference.
What we've been reading
This is what's caught our eye over the weekend.
- Odd Lots: How a former “Magic: The Gathering” player became the top tournament poker player of all time.
- Morgan Stanley sees U.S. underperforming in 2020 across markets.
- Women desert trading floors as bias blocks path to management.
- Diamond merchants’ headaches are forever.
- Mexico has a productivity problem.
- Ford unveils electric Mustang SUV to challenge Tesla.
- Lies, damned lies, and seven different types of fake news.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cecile Gutscher at cgutscher@bloomberg.net, Sid Verma
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