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Last Updated: 15-Sep-25 08:58 ET | Archive
Tesla playing key role in driving equity futures higher
Briefing.com Summary:
*Tesla soars 8% after Elon Musk stock purchase disclosure.
*NVIDIA down 2% after China says it has violated anti-monopoly law.
*President Trump teases TikTok deal and positive trade developments with China.
There is some big news coming later this week, with the FOMC decision and the release of the Summary of Economic Projections on Wednesday. In the meantime, the market has preoccupied itself with news pertaining to some big companies.
Specifically, Tesla (TSLA) is up 8% in pre-market trading following the disclosure that Elon Musk acquired 2.57 million shares for nearly $1 billion in what is his first open-market purchase since February 2020; meanwhile, NVIDIA (NVDA) is down 2% after China said NVIDIA violated China's anti-monopoly law.
Another big company, TikTok, is also in the market's consciousness after President Trump said on Truth Social that "A deal was also reached on a 'certain' company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!"
That post was made in conjunction with an update that "The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL!" This trade news is sounding like good news, but it strangely coincides with a Reuters report that China is opening a probe into U.S. trade policy over semiconductors.
The president also conveyed a belief that U.S. companies should report earnings every six months, instead of on a quarterly basis, which will save them money and enable a stronger focus on running their companies.
The equity futures market has a positive disposition in front of today's open, undeterred by a weak Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, which checked in at -8.7 (Briefing.com consensus: 3.0) versus 11.9 in the prior month. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 0.0, so this report suggests manufacturing activity in the Empire State contracted in September.
The 2-yr note yield is down three basis points to 3.53%, and the 10-yr note yield is down two basis points to 4.04%.
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are up 18 points and are trading 0.3% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 51 points and are trading 0.3% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 111 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value.
That sets the stage for a modestly higher open for the major indices.
