A collective sigh of relief swept across Wall Street after trading for SpaceX’s landmark Nasdaq launch went smoothly, setting a new template for the trading firms and exchanges that are bracing for the giant IPOs of OpenAI and Anthropic later this year.
MSCI’s global equities index rose on Friday with Wall Street ending modestly higher as shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX soared in their market debut, while oil prices fell more than 3% on fresh hopes for a peace deal between Iran and the U.S.
Japanese investors were willing to subscribe to more than 1 trillion yen ($6.2 billion) of shares in SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, two sources familiar with the offering said.
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources said, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the U.S.-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.
On Friday, Elon Musk’s image loomed large over Times Square from the giant TV screen of the Nasdaq stock exchange, as tourists outside snapped selfies, SpaceX investors in T‑shirts grinned at their newfound fortunes and news cameras jostled for position.
Expectations for U.S. monetary tightening and a strong dollar have taken some wind out of the “perfect storm” powering an upswing in gold since 2023, leaving prices in vulnerable territory around $4,000 per ounce as the interest rate backdrop unfolds.
Investors will soon get a new way to bet on SpaceX’s trajectory: options on the stock are set to begin trading as soon as Tuesday, with early activity expected to be heavy, volatile, and likely expensive.
Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday to their lowest levels in nearly two months as U.S. and Iranian officials said they were close to an agreement to halt their war in the Middle East.
SpaceX raised a record $75 billion in its IPO on Friday after selling about 5% of its outstanding shares, but it could raise even more under a provision designed to keep trading smooth in the first few weeks after a company goes public.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow rose in choppy trading on Friday, aided by expectations for an imminent end to the Middle East conflict, while SpaceX shares surged in their debut, making it Wall Street’s biggest public listing in history.