Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, September 28:
1. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Gets Sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Shares of luxury car maker Tesla are likely to be under pressure in trading on Friday, as the stock plunged 10.64% in premarket trading on news that CEO Elon Musk is being sued.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision is suing Musk for securities fraud, Bloomberg reported. The charges could bar Musk from serving as an officer of the company.
There had been an SEC investigation into Musk tweeting out of the blue that he was thinking of taking the company private at $420 per share and had “funding secured.”
2. Wall Street Points to a Flat Opening Bell
U.S. futures pointed to a flat opening bell on Wall Street, as investors wait for a flurry of economic data later in the day.
The S&P 500 futures fell 0.03% while Dow futures lost 0.04% and tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 0.02%.
Asian stocks ended the trading session in the green. The Shanghai Composite rose 1.06%,and the SZSE Component index increased 0.80%. The China A50 Index of China’s biggest companies surged 1.18%, while in Japan, the TOPIX was up 0.95% and the Nikkei 225 gained 1.37%.
Meanwhile trading in Europe was down, after Italy's government targeted its budget deficit at 2.4% of gross domestic product for the next three years, in defiance of Brussels.
3. Personal Spending, Chicago PMI Data Comes Out
The economic calendar is busy on Friday, with a flurry of data expected including the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge.
Personal spending for August comes out at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), with economists expecting a 0.3% rise, just lower than the month before.
At the same time the August core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes food and energy, arrives. This is a key data point that the Fed uses to get a sense of inflation.
Also before the bell, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin will give the opening remarks at a conference entitled Banking and the Economy: A Forum for Minorities in Banking.
Meanwhile the Chicago PMI is released at 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT), with investors expecting a small decrease, while at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT), the University of Michigan’s final measure of September consumer sentiment is expected.
4. Oil Flat as Investors Look Ahead to the Weekly Rig Count
Crude oil was flat as U.S. sanctions continued to pressure Iranian crude exports and the U.S. said it would not increase supply to offset the decrease in production.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry told a news conference at the Department of Energy late on Wednesday that the Trump Administration was not considering a release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset the impact of the sanctions on Iran that would come into force from Nov. 4.
The move comes after OPEC and Russia indicated there would be no immediate increase in production at a meeting in Algiers.
Investors are also looking ahead to the the Baker Hughes U.S. oil rig count at 1:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT)
5. Dollar Pushes Higher on Bullish Data
The U.S. dollar was higher against other currencies on Friday, as upbeat data continued to push it higher after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates on Wednesday.
The U.S. dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers was trading at 94.80, up 0.20%. The greenback tends to move higher as interest rates increase, as investors turn away from riskier assets.
Official government data showed on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 4.2% in the second quarter, the fastest in nearly four years. Separately, another report showed durable goods rose 4.5% in August.
The bullish data offset pending home sales numbers, which showed that the housing market in the U.S. is stagnating.